A Father's Love
by SLPikachu
Summary: Leaving is one thing. Leaving and not telling someone they're gonna be a father? That's another. Luke learns he has a five-year-old daughter in foster care and steps up to the plate for his little girl, a shy, mute kid who's been bounced around several foster homes in her short life.
1. Chapter 1

_**Please Read First!**_

 _ **This is a Luke-centered story that follows the series up until April comes in, but focused on him. That means there will be dialogue from the series included. I love Luke's character and wanted to do a story all about him and what if he became a dad sooner than he did on the show.**_

Chapter 1

Lorelei and Rory had come in for their coffee and breakfast before Lorelei had to head over to the Independence Inn and Rory had to catch the bus for Chilton. Luke was his grouchy self as he took their orders.

The girls snickered as he walked away after Lorelei teased the guy again.

The diner's phone rang as Luke returned behind the counter and handed the cook the latest order before answering it.

"Luke's."

" _Am I speaking with Lucas Danes?"_ It sounded like a woman.

"Yes."

" _Hello, Mister Danes,"_ she greeted, professionally.

"Please, no formals. Luke is fine," he assured her, politely and kind.

" _Not a problem,"_ she said.

"So, what can I do for you?"

" _Well, my name is Madison Flores. I am with Child Services over in Providence, Rhode Island."_ That was strange someone from child services was calling him when Luke didn't have any kids. He had a nephew from his sister. They didn't live in Providence though. Luke looked on at the floor, in confusion.

"I don't have any kids," he told her.

There was a short pause before Madison spoke. " _Do you, or have you ever known Rachel Hamilton?"_

Luke stared at nothing in particular, still in confusion. "Yes…?"

" _This never gets any easier and we normally don't do this, this far after the child comes into care. Maybe you should sit down, first."_

"I'm fine. Just go on," he urged her, calmly and kindly.

" _We met Rachel, five years ago when she released custody and surrendered all rights over to us of her baby girl, Shelby Danes. She wanted Shelby to be adopted to a nice family so we went ahead and put her on the adoption waiting list. Usually, we try and contact other relatives within the first year, not five years later and I am really sorry for not doing so then. But Shelby isn't accepting anyone besides her mentor and she moved cross country to California when she graduated college."_ The woman must have realized she was rambling and stopped to make sure how Luke was doing. " _Are you alright, Luke?"_

"Yeah." Luke was stunned. No, he was beyond stunned. What was beyond stunned, Luke didn't have a word for it. "Ra...Rachel was pregnant?" He kept his voice down so no one in the diner could hear.

" _Yes. We weren't sure if you knew or not. She just told us it would be better if Shelby was adopted. Well, our office just got a new supervisor and when she found out we never pursued the father, you, she… Well, she insisted we'd get into contact with you as soon as possible. I understand if you don't...if you don't want any part of this. Shelby's getting to that age where it's harder to adopt. We've tried. One couple even tried for a year."_

"Why hasn't she been adopted yet? What's the problem?" Luke quickly added, "don't get me wrong, I'm glad. I want my kid." He heard a sigh of relief. "I'm just curious."

" _Shelby's shy, extremely shy. She hides behind or under furniture and refuses to come out and when we force her out, she lashes out which is strange because shy children are so withdrawn, they won't fight back. This kid is just so darn stubborn, though."_

Luke couldn't help chuckle.

She caught it. " _What?"_

"That's funny. People has said that about me," he admitted.

" _She must get it from you then,"_ It sounded like Madison was smiling.

"So, what can I do? Can I come get her?"

" _Well, no. There's some things we have to do, first,"_ she explained to him the process and what he needed to do and bring when Luke came up there to Providence. For one, they had to make sure he was the father. Being stubborn, alone, wasn't enough.

When he eventually hung up, Luke stood there still stunned. The guy was a father. _A Father!_ His own offspring. This had to be some kind of dream. Some dream that he would wake up from. But, nope. This was real and the kid's mother was the same woman who just up and took off without a word or good-bye. His heart felt like it was breaking all over again from the day Rachel had left. She didn't look pregnant so maybe she didn't know. But, she could also called him up and told him. Why make their daughter go through whatever she did because of him?

Luke hung up the phone, grabbing Lorelei and Rory's food and took it over to them.

"What happened to our coffee?" Lorelai asked of him.

"Right." Luke headed around the counter to grab the coffee pot, bringing it back to pour for them. "You're not gonna believe this," he admitted, pouring Rory's last.

"What?"

He took a deep breath before answering, keeping his voice down so only they heard. "I have a kid."

Lorelai and Rory exchanged looks between each other.

"You're joking, right?" she forced a snicker.

"No." His expression was dead serious. Lorelai could now see that.

"You're...you're serious?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Well," Rory was speechless. "Congratulations, Luke."

"Thanks, Rory."

"Wait…" Lorelai was still trying to wrap her mind around the thing Luke just dropped on them. "You...you actually reproduced?"

Luke suddenly shushed her, not wanting the whole diner to hear. "Keep it down. I don't want everyone to know yet," he told her with his hands raised in front of him.

"Who's the mother? Is it someone we know?"

"No, you don't know her."

"Is it a secret girlfriend on the side?"

"I gotta go." Luke turned and headed for upstairs, not wanting to answer any questions. He knew Lorelai would start probing him and the guy was anxious to get there. He packed a bag and headed back downstairs. Rory had left for school but Lorelai was still there.

Luke closed up the diner and headed out to where his truck was parked.

"So, are you staying all through the pregnancy?"

He tossed his bag in the back and opened his door. "The kid's already born."

"How old is the kid?"

"Five. She's been living in foster care since she was born," he explained.

Lorelai gave him a surprised look. "And they're just now calling you?"

"Her mother put her up for adoption. Apparently, they messed up and the new supervisor wasn't happy about it and told them to search for me. Plus, she's getting older and they haven't been successful at finding her an adoptive family. "

"Luke's kid is hard to place. Now I see the resemblance," Lorelai smiled, in a teasing way.

Luke just gave her a stern stare. "It's nothing like that. Shelby's shy and won't warm up to anyone."

"Shelby's her name?"

"Yeah."

"That's a nice name."

"Yeah." Luke dropped his gaze to the ground.

"What?" Lorelai asked, noticing the sudden change.

"I don't really know about all this," he shrugged, looking at her again. "I have a kid, and a shy kid at that. I don't even know what to say or do for her. Not only that, but she's still technically little."

"That's good," she said.

"It is?"

"Yeah, it means you still have a huge chunk of her childhood to raise her and teach her what she needs to know."

Luke looked off in the distance, "I don't know. Girls, they don't go through the same things boys do."

"It'll be fine, Luke, I promise," she assured him, softly.

He looked back at her. "I don't even know how to get her to come out of hiding."

"Well," Lorelai paused, to think. "Wait, I have an idea."

"What?"

"You have more than one hat, right?"

"What does that have to do with Shelby?" he asked, confused.

"You can give it to her and say it's a special hat that makes the wearer invisible, and whenever she's ready to be seen, she can take it off. Until then, no one looks at her and it gives her control of when she's ready to interact with you."

"That won't work," Luke told her, bluntly.

"Sure it will."

"No, it won't," he argued.

"Why not?"

"Because if she's my kid Shelby will know that won't work."

"She's a kid, Luke. Still young to have an imagination," she pointed out. "Unlike some people I know." Lorelai gave him a knowing look. Eventually, Luke gave in and headed back inside to grab an extra hat he rarely wore anymore.

He drove all the way to Providence. It only took a few hours with traffic which he headed straight for the child services building. Once parked, Luke headed inside the tall building, asking for Madison Flores' floor, taking the elevator up.

Madison came out to meet him after Luke told the woman sitting at the front desk, she was expecting him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Luke," the woman shook his hand.

"Same here," he nodded, returning the handshake.

"Okay, I know we have to follow protocol and do this DNA thing, but wow." Madison stared at him, up and down, holding her fists on her sides. She was shorter than he was and a little pudgy, with very dark brown hair and wore a floral blouse and black dress pants, with heels. A gold necklace hung around her neck.

"What?" he asked, confused.

She shrugged, holding it for a moment. "I can see her when I look at you."

His eyebrows rose, impressed. "Really?"

"Oh, yes. Shelby is surely the spitting image of you, Luke." She smiled.

Luke was speechless, unsure of what to say. His kid looked just like him? Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

Having a resemblance to his daughter was enough for Madison to go ahead with the paperwork so when the test results came back, she could put them in right away. She also showed Luke some photos she had of Shelby. One was of her sitting in the backseat of a car when she was two years old. Her brown hair was short and Luke could see green eyes staring back at him.

"This one was taken the day she entered foster care," she handed him a photo of a small bundle wrapped in a pink blanket. Shelby was sleeping in that one, of course, only being a couple days old. With each photo she showed him, Luke's heart was slowly becoming putty, melting like a piece of chocolate on a hot sidewalk, during a summer's mid day. It wasn't until a current photo did Luke realize his eyes were moistened, a little. It was weird because he wasn't a crier. But as he stared at each one, Luke had to keep rubbing at his eye.

Luke spent the night in Providence, at a nearby motel, receiving the news the next day that it was a match. It took all he had to not cry. Lucas Danes was a father.

Madison put the background check in right away. Unfortunately, Luke had to wait another week or so before he could meet his daughter.

"So, how did it go?" Lorelai asked him eagerly after Luke had returned home. She sat at the counter, the following morning. "Did my hat trick work?"

Luke poured her, her coffee. "I haven't met her yet."

"Why not?"

"There's stuff I have to go through before they can let me meet her. DNA testing to make sure I am her father, background check, home check. Lots of paperwork," he explained.

"Does she know yet?"

"What?"

"That you're her dad and you're trying to be a part of her life."

"No, not yet," Luke replied. "They're waiting until everything gets settled in case this doesn't work out."

"Why wouldn't it?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I guess it's child services protocol. As soon as I get a bed moved up there, her caseworker will come down here and check the place out, make sure it's livable for a kid."

Lorelai folded her arms, leaning her elbows on the counter. "You still nervous?"

Luke breathed in, letting it out. "Yeah. In fact, more than before. I can't get over how much she looks like me."

"Do you have a picture yet?"

He went into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, pulling out a photo Madison had given to him and handed it to Lorelai.

"Wow," was her initial reaction. She held it in her hands as Lorelai stared at the little girl. "I know they say girls take after their fathers, but damn." She handed the photo back to him, "now we know what you would look like as a girl."

Luke took it, back as he said, "Thanks," sarcastically and monotone.

"Don't mention it," she smirked at him, standing up off the stool and headed for the door.

Before replacing the photo back in his wallet, Luke stared at it. One thought crossed his mind at that moment he hadn't thought of. Even though she looks like him, will she like him?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was an anxious week and a half for Luke. He bought a twin bed and set it up, rearranging the furniture around, asking Madison what kind of bedset to get for Shelby, if she had a favorite color or thing. At the moment, the kid was really into the Anime show, _Pokemon_ which Luke had no idea what that was. One day, during one of his breaks he caught it on TV and decided to watch it.

"Basically, this kid throws this ball and these creatures comes out that can breathe water, fire, whatever, and this yellow rabbit thing shoots lightning and there are bad guys who want to steal the rabbit and the other creatures. Oh, and did I mention they like to 'battle' each other?" Luke was telling Lorelai and Rory, that night after their weekly dinner with Lorelai's parents.

"Sounds like _Looney Tunes_ on steroids," Lorelai looked over at Rory.

"I think I've seen some of the boys playing the game, at Stars Hollow high," Rory pointed out.

"Yeah, her mentor, the one that got Shelby into it, gave her a copy for Christmas and spends a lot of time playing it and knows how, at that."

"So, she's a smartie, huh?" Lorelai smirked up at him.

He shrugged, "I guess. Her caseworker says she struggles with some subjects. She's already in kindergarten but won't come out to do any work. Shelby's looking at being held back if she doesn't start participating in class."

"I didn't know you could be held back in kindergarten," said Rory.

"I guess apparently you can."

The day had finally arrived when Luke got the phone call to set up the first visit. No one had still not told Shelby. In fact, the three of them were going to lunch and Madison planned on dropping the news then. So he was going to be present when Shelby found out. Knowing that made the guy even more nervous, wondering what kind of reaction the kid will have.

He opened the diner for a few hours that morning, to serve breakfast before setting out on the drive there. Lorelai reminded him of the plan with the hat suggestion, so Luke made sure he had it on him.

Madison gave him directions to the restaurant where they were meeting. He arrived there first and waited until they got there. At first, Luke waited in the truck but he was so nervous and anxious, Luke ended up getting out and pacing up and down the sidewalk until he saw Madison's car pull into the parking lot. She parked a few spaces away and slid out, stepping a few feet back to open the door to the backseat.

Luke watched from where he was standing with his hands in his pockets. It didn't seem like Shelby was getting out. A few minutes went by before he finally went over. "Everything alright?"

Madison stood up, placing a hand on the top of the door frame. "Shelby won't come out," she explained.

"Can I try?" he asked.

"Be my guest." She stepped away to let Luke take her place. He slid in between the cars, looking into the backseat. Shelby was balled up on the seat, holding the yellow rabbit-looking thing in her arms. She was the most precious thing Luke had ever laid eyes on.

Squatting beside the car, Luke spoke to her. "Uh, hi." He could see the little girl's body tense up at seeing a stranger. "My name's Luke. Shelby, right?"

Shelby said nothing. She just eyed him, cautiously.

Remembering the hat, Luke pulled it from his coat pocket, shaking it out. "I, uh… I have this hat, here. Its really special. It lets the wearer be invisible and whenever you feel like being seen you can just take it off. Want to give it a try?" He held the hat out to her. There was no way this was going to work. The kid wasn't really going to fall for it. Was she?

Luke and Madison waited there for a moment as Shelby looked at the hat.

To both their surprise, the little girl reached out and took the hat from him, placing it on her head. Luke had neglected to shift the plastic strap in the back so it fit her head. It fell over her eyes which actually worked out, perfectly.

He stood up, moving to the other side of the door.

After another minute when the adults looked in other directions, pretending like the kid wasn't there, Shelby scooted over to the edge of the seat and slid out of the car and onto the asphalt.

Madison looked at Luke, impressed.

"It was a friend's idea, actually. She thought of it when I told her Shelby was shy."

"Well, it seems to have worked," she couldn't help smile as they made their way up to the restaurant.

Luke didn't look at his daughter, completely. He did steal a look out of the corner of his eye, making sure she didn't trip or run into something. Shelby was holding the brim of the hat in her fingers, watching her feet and stealing a look from underneath the brim whenever they stopped.

The hostess showed them to a booth.

Luke sat across from the girls with Shelby by the window. When she was given a kid's menu with crayons, she started coloring in the picture of the restaurant's mascot. Luke tried to see if Shelby had gotten anything from Rachel, too. It was hard to tell when the kid had a shield and technically, he wasn't supposed to be looking at her until she removed the hat which he told Madison. It also meant they couldn't tell Shelby the news until she was ready.

Their server took a drink order first. Madison ordered Shelby an orange juice since she knew that was her favorite while she ordered a raspberry iced tea, and Luke ordered a Coke.

"I hope your friend's hat trick helps more," she told Luke as they looked over the menus. "I mean, she's out of the car and all, and that's great. I'm gonna need to know what she wants to eat."

Luke got an idea of his own. "Yeah," he said, raising his voice a tad, to make sure Shelby heard. "I wonder what Shelby wants to eat, too," and mouthed to follow his lead.

They glanced over where Shelby had stopped coloring. She was just sitting there holding the crayon until finally circling something on the side of the menu before Shelby continued her coloring.

Luke turned his head, trying to see what she had circled. He couldn't really tell. Leaning over a little Luke checked again. "Looks like she wants a cheeseburger," he said, sitting back in his seat.

"You're doing pretty well," Madison complimented.

Luke thanked her.

When the server returned, they ordered their meals.

The first visit ended up being just between Luke and Madison. Not once did Shelby remove the hat and ended up letting the kid take the hat with her.

On the second visit, they went to a park where Shelby spent the entire time on the swing. Luke paced around the picnic table, now and then, stealing looks over at his daughter.

Madison had not counted on dragging out the news either. During the fifth visit, she told Luke she had mentioned this to Shelby's therapist, who also liked Lorelai's hat trick and thought it was a good idea. It had gotten the kid to not hide behind furniture and Shelby was even sitting at her table, in class and at least tempting her work. Her teacher couldn't help though until she was comfortable with removing the hat and being "seen."

"Told ya it'll work," said Lorelai when he told her a week after the first visit.

"Not yet," he pointed out, "at least not completely."

"Just give it some time. I'm sure Shelby will come around, eventually," she assured him.

Luke let out a breath of air. The two of them were coming from one of the town meetings. "I hope so. Tomorrow's our first visit with just the two of us since Madison can't keep doing it at this rate."

"How do you feel about that?" Lorelai asked, walking beside him with her arms folded, lightly.

"I don't know. I'm hoping with just the two of us, it'll make things easier on her." Luke was watching the ground as he walked.

"Has she snuck even one peek at you since you gave her the hat?"

"Here and there. I just hope she won't be too scared to come with me. I don't want to make her come if she's scared of me."

Lorelai smiled at the guy, "Who could be scared of a big ol' teddy bear like you?"

"A little kid who's shy and has probably moved about a hundred times in five years, to live with more strangers."

"You're exaggerating," she told him.

"Yes," he replied, "unfortunately not by much."

"Why did they move her so much?"

He shrugged. "Either it was time to move her, or Shelby lashed out at them. Madison had to move her once when an older foster brother decided it would be fun to trap her in a closet and not let her out. Didn't even have a working light inside."

Lorelai stared at him. "You're kidding."

Luke shook his head. "Terrified her so much, she had an accident right then and there. Now, she won't sleep with the light off. Got her a nightlight to plug beside her bed."

"That poor kid," she shook her head, in disbelief.

"I know I'm gonna have my work cut out for me. Whatever it takes I'll be there for my kid. Maybe I'll buy Shelby that Barbie." He smirked at her, which Lorelai returned, remembering the conversation they had, last December.

The next day, Luke got to pick Shelby up from school. When he saw her lined up on the fence with her class, Luke called out, "I wonder where Shelby is?" Catching her, sneaking a peek from under the hat, she stood up straight and wandered over, stopping when Shelby saw his feet. Luke opened the door and let her climb in, spotting her before shutting the door. Hurrying back around to his side, Luke slid in under the wheel, fastening his seatbelt and started the truck.

Since it was the end of the school day, the parking lot was packed. It took a while before Luke was able to leave.

"Seriously, how long does it take to pick up your kid and then drive forward?" he questioned under his breath. When the line stopped moving once again, Luke slouched in his seat, annoyed. Stealing a glance at his daughter, Luke looked to see what she was doing.

Shelby was holding her foot on the edge of the seat, picking at a loose thread on her sock.

Reaching towards the radio, he switched it on. Some little kid was singing even though Luke had it on a country station. He was about to switch stations when Shelby suddenly cried out, "No." Luke was caught off guard and looked over at her, who had pulled the hat down more so that it covered her whole face. Not saying a word, he turned the song up so they could hear it, better.

As the song played, Luke realized it was about a kid about to meet his father for the first time. He glanced over at Shelby. Below the hat Luke could see her jaw move in the same motions to the words and realized she was silently singing along. At that point, things were getting harder for Luke to keep quiet.

After what seemed like ages, Luke was finally able to leave the parking lot and drive on the main street. He headed for the nearest ice cream eatery, keeping an eye out for one. Once a Dairy Queen was spotted, Luke pulled in and parked. Luke slid out and let Shelby slide out on his side. Only, she froze when Shelby sat on the edge of the seat and looked down. Since she was wearing the hat, he couldn't ask if she wanted help. So Luke had to wait, hoping she would remove the hat.

Five minutes went by before the hat moved.

Luke perked up from where he was staring at the ground.

Shelby had finally removed the hat and gave him, a pitiful look.

He couldn't help smile. "Want a hand, down?"

She nodded.

Luke stood up from where he was leaning on his open door and held his hands out to her. Shelby reached out for him, letting Luke lift her and set Shelby down on her feet, moving so he could close the door.

Shelby set the hat back on her head.

"Where did Shelby go?" he shrugged, pretending to have lost her. "I don't see her anywhere." Her head pointed up towards him. "I was gonna get her some ice cream but if I can't find her then I guess we can't get any."

Slowly but surely, Shelby removed the hat.

"There you are," Luke teased the kid and kneeled to her level. "How about it? Want some ice cream?"

There was a hesitance before her head nodded up and down.

The two headed inside where Luke read off the menu for her, pausing between each item, the second time around. Shelby shook her head until he said what she wanted, choosing a strawberry ice cream cone.

Luke pulled down the tailgate and lifted Shelby up to sit on it. He sat next to her, a Blizzard in his own hand. "Is it good?" he asked her.

Shelby nodded. She took another lick.

They sat in silence, eating their ice cream while Luke thought of something to say or ask. What kinds of things does one talk about with a five-year-old?

"How's school? Do you like it?"

She looked up at him and shook her head that time.

"How come? Kids being mean?"

Another shake.

"School's hard for you?"

That time, she nodded again.

"Well, maybe you should let the teacher help you so you can get better at it," he suggested. "Madison says, you're doing a little bit better, this past week," Luke paused to take a cold bite, "I bet you can get even better if you had help."

Shelby stared at her ice cream.

"Just a suggestion. You can take all the time you need. Okay?"

After they finished their ice cream, Luke shut the tailgate and slid back inside the truck. On the way back to her foster home, he asked Shelby, "Hey, you ever been fishing?"

Shelby hadn't put the hat back on so that seemed like a good sign. She shook her head, no.

"I'm going this weekend. If Madison says it's okay, wanna come?"

She just shrugged. When Shelby realized what was playing on the radio, her focus went to that. It was the same boy, different song. It didn't even sound like the boy had hit puberty yet. This one was about praying to be heard, ending with a boy tossing a pistol into a river. Shelby sang along to this one as well. Luke guessed she liked the singer.

"You like this kid?"

Shelby nodded.

"Have any of his music?"

She shook her head.

When Luke pulled up to the foster home, he walked her inside and said good-bye. He wasn't expecting the hug but when Shelby hugged him around the legs Luke couldn't help smile, touching a hand to her head.

Madison ended up giving the okay to take Shelby fishing. Closing the diner for the weekend, Luke packed up his truck, drove up to Providence to pick her up, and drove up to a lake.

He showed her how to bait her hook and cast it out on the water. While they waited, Luke thought up more things to ask. The questions were limited considering he had to stick to yes or no questions, finding out she liked country music like he did, watching cartoons, and playing her handheld Gameboy Color. Also, dirt. She loved playing in dirt or sand as she kept digging at the dirt with her heel.

With the fish not biting and running short on what to ask, Luke finally decided to say something. "So how would you feel if you came to live with me?" He looked from the lake, down at Shelby. Luke waited to see what she would do. She looked down at the hat in her lap and placed it on her head, over her eyes. Quickly, looking away, Luke silently beat himself over asking it too soon. It seemed like things may have taken a step backwards.

Half an hour went by before the hat was removed again and Luke caught Shelby nodding her head.

"Are you...saying yes to coming to live with me?"

She continued nodding, finally looking at him. Luke had noticed the only thing the kid had gotten from her mother was her dimples. Everything else was pure Luke.

"Can I tell you something special?"

Shelby shrugged.

Luke dropped his gaze at the ground, holding the fishing pole in both hands. He tried to find the right words. The guy was never any good at this kind of thing. He couldn't even tell Lorelai he actually liked her. How was he supposed to tell his daughter he was her father?

"Uhhh…" He tried to look at Shelby, then turned back to the ground. Luke did that a couple times, confusing the poor kid. Finally, she stood up and reached a hand up. Shelby removed his hat and replaced it with the one Luke gave to her, pulling it down over his eyes before sitting back down. He lifted it to ask, "you want me to be invisible?"

Shelby nodded.

Luke smiled and pulled the hat back down, looking at the ground again. "You remember that song on the radio you wanted me not to turn off?" He looked back at her.

She thought on it before nodding her head.

Taking a deep breath, Luke asked, "How would you feel if you ever met your dad?"

Shelby shrugged her shoulders, holding them up for a long time.

"Would that make you happy?"

Shelby looked down, drawing in the dirt with her foot. Eventually, she nodded.

"You'd want to meet him?"

She continued nodding.

"How would you feel if I told you, you already have?"

That lifted her head, looking at him, in confusion.

"Madison and I did some special testing and learned that...I'm your dad. Is that okay?" Luke waited to see her response. Shelby was staring at him for a good long while. Finally, she pointed to herself.

Luke nodded and wrapped an arm around her, being gentle and taking things slow. When Shelby didn't reject the gesture, he pulled her in for a one-handed hug. "I just want you to know, I didn't know you were born. If I did I would have been there for you. I know now and will be there for you from here on out. Okay?" He rubbed her upper arm, up and down, holding the fishing pole in the other hand.

Shelby stared up at him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Their father/daughter moment was interrupted by a tug on Shelby's fishing pole, tugging it out of her hand. Luke jumped forward, onto a knee, grabbing it before the pole went into the lake, reeling the fish in. Holding the reel tight in one hand, Luke pulled his daughter in.

"This is your fish, kiddo. You gotta help reel him in," he told her. Both of them held onto the fishing pole as Luke held Shelby's hand on the reel's handle. Luke was doing most of the pulling though. The fish put up quite a fight but the Daneses wouldn't give in, not that easily. They tugged and tugged until the fish leaped out of the water. Luke gave the fishing pole one quick pull and reached out to catch it. "Awright! You caught your first fish, Shelby."

A smile appeared on her face, showing off more of her dimples. Luke even caught a hint of teeth showing.

He told her she could look away while he gutted the fish, to fry up over the campfire for dinner. Luke also showed Shelby how to make a campfire. Father and daughter spent the rest of the weekend, bonding together.

Sunday evening, Luke took Shelby back to the foster home. This time, the good-bye ended up being emotional for the kid, who didn't want him to leave and refused to let go. He promised it was only for a little while and squeezed his daughter, tight.

Later, that night, Luke worked a late shift at the diner when Lorelai came in with her friend, Sookie, who was on her first date with Jackson. It was actually a double date. Lorelai was supposed to be with Jackson's cousin, Rune, but had decided to head over to talk to Luke instead. Jackson's cousin ended up storming out of the diner, leaving Jackson and Sookie alone.

"So, how was it?" Lorelai asked over a game of poker.

"It was great. Shelby had a lot of fun. Caught her first fish," he answered, humbly and proudly.

"That's great," she said. "Did you get the chance yet?"

"Yeah, I did."

Lorelai stared at him, wide-eyed. "And?"

"She accepted it." Luke smiled when he said it.

"That is so awesome, Luke. Congratulations."

"Any day now the paperwork should be finished and Shelby can finally come home." Both of them were shuffling through their cards, replacing the ones they didn't want.

"I am so happy for you both."

At that moment, Lane's mother had burst into the diner, yelling that she had tried calling and never got an answer and was searching for her daughter. Long story, short, Lorelai ended up running out after her.

Luke just watched her leave without another word.

A few days later, while working, Luke received the phone call he had been waiting for. Jumping into his truck, Luke drove up to Providence one last time, meeting Madison at a juvenile court building for child services for a hearing. Luke sat in on the hearing. The judge was pleased with Shelby's progress in a short amount of time and the fact they had finally found somewhere permanent for her to live. Lorelai had even written a letter of recommendation on how much of a great father Luke would be.

At the end of the hearing, Luke was granted full custody of his daughter and was finally able to bring her home. Shelby was excited to hear it too, running to his open arms where Luke scooped her up. She still wasn't talking to him yet and still wore the hat around anyone else. Her dad was alright in her book at least.

Lorelai and Rory came into the diner, talking about Sookie and Jackson having their third date that evening. Rory got paged from her friend and hurried from the diner to call Lane, leaving Lorelai alone.

Luke came over with coffee, asking how everything went the other night. She assured him everything was fine in the dating world. "Glad I don't have to deal with that for a while," he added and offered her the coffee which he didn't need to ask in the first place.

"You know, I had a good time the other night."

"Oh, yeah, yeah," he replied. "Me, too."

"Good."

"In fact, you rushed out of here before..." Luke waved his hand as he tried to get the words out, "before I had the chance to, uh…"

"A chance to…?"

"Kick your ass in poker," he finally finished. Not the words he was trying to say, but something.

Lorelai forced a chuckle. "You wish." She looked away at the table.

"Burger?"

"Two, and fries."

Luke wrote the order down on his notepad. "Maybe we can do it again sometime."

"Oh, yeah," she waved her own hand, glancing away again. "Well, I...I would like that."

Rory returned, excited but just long enough to return Lorelai's phone and to let her know she was going over to stand across the street and yell at Lane.

Before Luke walked away to fill the order, he got Lorelai's attention, once more. "Hey. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

She gasped, already knowing who. "No way."

Luke turned and called Shelby over, who was pinned against the counter and hugging her yellow rabbit-looking thing. It was actually a mouse whose name was Pikachu, Shelby had informed him through sloppy, five-year-old handwriting.

She hurried over and hid behind his leg. When Shelby looked at Lorelai, she placed the hat on her head, letting it fall over her eyes.

"She's so beautiful, Luke. Congratulations, again," she told him.

He thanked her. When Luke turned to head for the kitchen, he almost tripped and fell over, catching himself in time. Surrounded by a room full of strangers, Shelby refused to leave her father's side. Luke tried to show frustration but looking at her, he could only smile. Peeling her off, he lifted Shelby onto his side and carried her over to the counter, setting her on the stool and asked if she wanted anything to eat. Unknown to him, Lorelai watched them, smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Shelby slowly got settled in. Luke emptied one of his bottom drawers for her to put her clothes in, going through each piece. He wasn't thrilled Shelby had been living out of a large black trash bag for most of her time in foster care.

"Do they not give you a backpack or a suitcase?" he asked her.

She shrugged.

He was sitting on the end of his bed with the bag right in front of him on the floor. Everything Shelby owned was inside. Clothes, hygiene stuff, the few toys she owned. All of it was in there. Pulling everything out, one at a time, he asked if she still wore or used it, or if it was clean or not. Shelby wasn't sure what was clean and what wasn't so Luke just dumped all the clothes into the washer.

The few toys she owned was her Gameboy, Pikachu, and a bunch of key chain, figurine, and beanbag _Pokemon_ toys from Burger King. Madison did mention Shelby wanting nothing but Burger King, the year before whenever they went out or grabbed lunch. The toys, Shelby set up on the coffee table and knocked them into each other as if they were battling. When the dryer finished, Luke interrupted her play to finish sorting through the clothes.

The ones Shelby no longer wore or could wear, but was still in good condition, Luke tossed into a pile to donate to the charity rummage sale the town was having. There were some shirts that were either stained or had holes, those he tossed into a pile to be thrown away. The pile of clothes they were keeping was the smallest of them all.

"We're gonna have to go shopping," he muttered under his breath and sighed. Shopping was his least favorite activity. At least judging by the clothes she had now, it wouldn't be so bad. For the cold seasons, the kid had jeans, one pair of sweatpants, and long sleeve shirts, and during the warm seasons, shorts and T-shirts. Luke could tell right off his daughter was a tomboy for sure. He folded up the clothes they were keeping and handed them to Shelby, telling her to go put them in her drawer. As she walked away, he made sure to add, to not just throw them in there. It was strange how much the kid listened. Didn't kids whine or rebel? Not to mention Shelby had a history of lashing out towards others.

When Shelby returned, Luke handed her another pile. Once she set those inside her drawer, he let her go back to her toys. Now that his kid was taken care of, Luke tackled the stuff he wanted to get rid of, going through boxes of stuff. He ended up finding a bag of clothes that had belonged to Shelby's mother. One item in particular caught his eye. Memories ran through his mind. What made them hurt even more was the fact Rachel never told him about their daughter.

Luke knew how much Rachel wanted to move out of Stars Hollow, somewhere where her hobbies could be satisfied. She was so adventurous and Luke really admired that about her. Loved, actually. She was everything he wasn't. Rachel was his whole world and he had loved her so much. His best friend. Luke wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman. But Rachel didn't want the same thing he wanted. He wanted to stay in Stars Hollow so she just booked. Didn't even say good-bye or tell him she was leaving. And, to top it all off, she took their unborn child with her and never told him when Shelby was born. That right there was the cherry of the pain he felt.

Shoving the jacket he was holding, back inside the bag, Luke stood up and dropped the bag of clothes over by Shelby's, and continued going through stuff. The only other thing he found was old pots and pans, and rags he didn't use anymore.

"Get your shoes on, Shelby," he told her when he was ready to go drop the stuff off at Lorelai's. "We're heading out."

Shelby went over to where her tennis shoes were sitting on the floor to put them on. She shoved her feet into each shoe and tried to tie them herself. Her father ended up having to do it. They stood up afterwards and Luke held her jacket while Shelby slipped her arms through.

At the bottom of the stairs, Shelby peeked around the corner, checking to see if anyone else was in there.

"I closed the diner for a few hours so no one's in here," he assured her.

Shelby was holding onto her Pikachu and hat. Yes, the hat was pretty much hers at this point. Luke didn't see getting it back any time soon.

Outside, Luke tossed the bags into the back of his truck while Shelby climbed into the front seat. Once she was inside, he shut her door and went around to his side, sliding in. They drove over to Lorelai's house and just walked right in. Shelby was already wearing her hat and clinging to his leg as he greeted the older girls.

Rory greeted Luke, first. She noticed Shelby peeking around his leg but since the kid was wearing her hat, couldn't say hello.

"Where do you want these?" he held the bags up.

"What do you have?" Lane asked.

"Clothes, rags, and some old pots and pans."

"Kitchenware can go in the kitchen and clothes go right over there," Rory directed him.

Luke dropped the clothes with the others and turned to head to the kitchen, almost stumbling over. "Okay, Shell. I can't walk with you holding onto me like that." Shelby stepped back at that, hanging her head. Luke ran his hand over the hat, gently nudging her towards the kitchen.

While in the kitchen, setting the bag of pots and pans on the floor, Luke kneeled to her level. "I don't get upset when you hold onto me. Okay?" he assured her. "I'm just worried of falling over you."

Shelby held Pikachu in her arms. Her head was pointed towards it but her eyes stared up at her father.

"You're in a safe place. I know it's all new to you but there's no reason to be afraid." Right as he said that, Lorelai came in and alerted there was a man in her kitchen. Even though she was only trying to be harmlessly funny, it spooked Shelby, who clung onto her father. Luke stood up, lifting her with him and gave Lorelai one of his serious looks. "I just got done telling her, there's nothing to be afraid of."

"Sorry." Lorelai gave an apologetic look. "How's she settling in?"

"So far, she only seems to be warming up to me. She won't even step foot in the diner when it's packed unless she's clinging to my leg."

"You get her in school yet?"

"Not yet. I was waiting a few days, let her get settled in first." He felt something brush against his back. Shelby lifted her head, not holding Pikachu anymore. Luke looked behind him. Sure enough there he was on the floor. Lorelai offered to pick him up and hand to the kid, who clung it tight to her chest and hid her face into Luke's shoulder. "Hey, anyone donate any kids' clothes?"

"Maybe," she shrugged. "Want us to let you know if we come across any?"

"That would be great if you can. We had to donate or throw away a lot of her clothes so Shelby doesn't have that much."

"Sure," she assured him.

"Just keep your eye out for any pants or shirts. Shelby seems to be a bit of a tomboy."

"Got it."

Luke headed back out to the living room, to say good-bye to Rory before heading back out to his truck where he set Shelby on his seat.

Shelby removed her hat, looking up at him.

"Lorelai scared ya, huh?"

She nodded.

"She didn't mean to. Lorelai likes to mess with me a lot, to pick on me. Nothing to be afraid of."

Shelby gave a guilty look and looked away.

Luke leaned in and gave her a kiss on the head and had her scoot over.

Thursday, in between the breakfast and lunch rush, Luke stopped by the store, letting Shelby pick out what she wanted to wear and grabbed some supplies for school as well, including a _Pokemon_ backpack. The kid really liked that show.

On the ride home, Luke tried to ask about it, hoping talking about her favorite show would encourage Shelby to speak. No dice. Just head and shoulder movements.

At home, after they put everything away and organized the supplies into Shelby's backpack, Luke fixed lunch and set her up with cartoons while he headed downstairs to the diner. He assured Shelby he would come check on her, periodically.

At night, Shelby never stayed in her own bed. At first she did. Her first night Shelby whimpered in her sleep, eventually waking Luke. He had gone over to check on her, waking Shelby.

Shelby woke with a start, jumping when she noticed someone standing over her.

Luke lowered himself onto the bed, sitting on the edge. "It's just me, Shelby. You were having a bad dream." It wasn't long before he realized the kid had wet the bed and had to give her another bath. Luke also had to strip the bed and replace the sheets while hers got washed.

Every night for the first few nights, that happened, just like the first. On the fourth night Shelby ended up climbing into Luke's bed, not long after they had gone to sleep. Luke could feel the bed move and opened his eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked when Luke noticed the kid was in a crawling position. Turning on the light next to his bed, he looked back at her who was frozen in mid-step, looking scared. Luke caved and encouraged Shelby over. She still continued to be weary, but made her way over where he pulled the covers over her.

Shelby snuggled against her father, using his arm for a pillow. She woke up dry the next morning.

That Friday, Rory came into the diner while Luke was leaning on the counter.

"If you want coffee, you'll have to wait," he informed her.

"Hey, Luke. Someone put a sign for the rummage sale up on your window, there."

He stood up from where he was leaning "You can have decaf right now if you're in a hurry."

"You should call the cops about this," she teased him. "I mean we all know how you feel about public displays of town affection."

"Your mom asked me to put it there, okay?"

"And, you said yes?" Rory questioned, in disbelief.

"She's not real good with no."

"No, she's not." Rory smiled.

"For every second you laugh at me, that's one second longer you're waiting for coffee," he told her.

She dropped her hands, flat on the counter. "Sorry. No laughing," really trying not to.

Luke eyed the teenaged girl as he turned away to check on the coffee. When he turned back, Lorelai had come in and sat next to her daughter. He froze when he saw what she was wearing. "What the hell do you think you are you wearing?"

"A hat," she replied.

"Take that off," he ordered her.

"What?" Lorelai exchanged a look with Rory, confused.

"Now that is not yours. Take it off."

|"I'll have hat hair," she pointed out, thinking he was referring to the cowgirl hat she was wearing.

He raised his voice. "I'm talking about the sweatshirt!"

"Luke, calm down," Lorelai told the man, calmly.

"That is not yours."

"No, I found it in the bags of stuff for the sale."

"Oh, so you just find stuff somewhere and you take it?" he argued.

"No, I paid for it."

"So, that makes it alright?"

Lorelai sounded completely confused by this point. "It makes it legal. What is the matter with you?"

"Nothing," he lied. "Nothing's the matter."

"Luke," she tried to say but Luke set the coffee pot down, telling them to pour their own before storming into the kitchen.

He stood there, staring at the floor with his hands on his sides. Luke wasn't even sure why he had went off like that though he wasn't expecting to see that sweatshirt again and on Lorelai. Why let something like this affect him? She left. She broke his heart, kept quiet about their child. But it couldn't erase years of fond memories either.

Later, that night, as Shelby slept beside him, Luke couldn't help realize no matter what he got rid of, of Rachel's, he'll always have a part of her. Even though she didn't exactly look like her, Shelby had her mother's smile. He loved and hated it, and Luke hated that he hated it, because that was his kid and it wasn't her fault. Shelby didn't ask for any of this.

Saturday morning, Shelby plopped herself down in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal and watched cartoons on _Kids' WB_ , all morning.

Around noonish, Luke caught her sneaking downstairs, peeking around the corner.

"Come here," he told her while making more coffee.

Shelby dashed over as quick as possible, bumping into his leg. She was holding a piece of paper in her hands, looked to be torn out from the drawing pad he had gotten her.

"You hungry?"

Instead of answering, Shelby held the paper up to him.

Luke took it from her and looked at it. On the front of the paper was a picture drawn in crayons. Everything had a smiling face, from the sun, to the orange and purple trees. In the center of the picture were two stick figures, one taller than the other, both wearing huge smiles that went through their huge noggins. The taller figure had a backwards hat on its head.

"Is this for me?"

Shelby nodded up at him. Something caught her eye and immediately put the hat back on, covering her eyes.

Luke looked to see what she had seen, catching Miss Patty and Babette sitting over by the door.

"She's a keeper, Luke," Miss Patty told him.

He gave a slight nod and turned back to his kid, running his hand on top of her head. "Thanks, Shelby." Everyone in town was surprised to learn Luke had a kid and was now a single dad, raising her. No one had seen that one coming. In fact, it had spread across town fast and was the most popular talk of the town, currently.

"How old is she?" Babette asked.

"She's five," he answered.

The women exchanged looks between each other. Luke knew they were putting two and two together. They could probably guess who her mother was without having to tell them.

Sunday, the two of them checked out the rummage sale. Since it was a good cause, Luke figured he would find something. He let Shelby pick out anything she wanted, too. There was a bin with lots of toys in it. Shelby looked through it, deciding which toy she wanted while Luke stood on the other side.

He found a Barbie, wearing a princess dress. "How about this?"

Shelby looked up to see what her father was referring to, making a disapproving face.

So, Luke tossed the Barbie back into the bin as Shelby continued looking. There was a Tonka truck towards the bottom that could scoop up dirt. It sparked her interest so Shelby showed it to him.

"That's the one you want?" he asked, making sure.

She nodded.

Luke paid for the truck and some magnets he had found for himself. The guy was gonna need something to hang drawings on his fridge, now.

As they continued looking, Lorelai came over. "Hey."

Shelby shot behind her father's legs as he greeted Lorelai in return.

"Find anything good?" she asked as they started walking.

"Oh, yeah. I got some refrigerator magnets shaped like sushi for a nickel and a toy truck for fifty cents, so basically I scored." Shelby was spinning one of the wheels as she walked close to him. Her shoulder was basically brushing up against his leg.

"Oh, good."

"Look, about that thing that happened the other day," he tried to apologize.

"Oh, forget it," Lorelai brushed it off.

"No, I was a jerk. I didn't mean it," Luke pushed it, further.

"I know, really."

"Yeah, well, I am sorry."

She smiled at him before pulling the sweatshirt from behind her back. "I wanted to give this back to you."

Luke declined. "Oh no. You bought it."

"I know, but it's yours, and I didn't know."

"Didn't know?"

"About the former owner."

Luke shook his head.

"If I had, I wouldn't have flaunted it in front of you like that," she admitted, sadly.

"Hey, it's not a big deal. I was having a bad day, that's it. Now, I got magnetic sushi to hang up my kid's drawings she makes. All is right in the world."

"Okay, good. So... here." She held the sweatshirt out to him again. Luke stopped walking to face her. "It obviously means something to you."

"But you have to let things go eventually, right?" he pointed out.

"Eh. But, sometimes you need a little something to remind you. I mean, you wouldn't want to forget everything, would ya?"

"No. There was some stuff that I definitely would not want to forget," Luke admitted.

"So here," Lorelai encouraged, "so you don't forget."

"Thanks, but Shelby's all the reminder I need." He looked down at the little girl, who was now pushing the truck along the ground and continued to decline taking back the sweatshirt. Luke didn't mean it in a bad way, that Shelby was a reminder of her mother. Rachel's smile was one of the things he most adored about her and Shelby having it too made it, better. The guy would take the smile over a sweatshirt, any day.

"Is she…?" Lorelai looked between the sweatshirt and Shelby with her eyes.

He nodded. "Yeah."

She nodded towards the ground.

Luke let Shelby know they were leaving and started to walk away when he turned back. "I'm not pining, you know," he told Lorelai.

"I know," she nodded at him.

"Just remembering."

"Got it."

"Remembering is not pining."

Lorelai shook her head, "You're absolutely right."

Luke looked down at Shelby. "A memento. Like restaurant matches"

"Did you just compare your kid to matches?" she teased him.

"No," he lied, not sure what to come back with.

Lorelai just smiled. "Bye, Luke."

"Bye." Luke turned and started walking again. How can one feel so much anger for someone and yet, there was still a part of him that missed her. His head pointed him to be angry when his heart said, otherwise. He watched Shelby for a moment, not saying a word. If she did come back, what would he even do?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Early, Monday morning around five, Luke got Shelby up and ready for her first day at Stars Hollow elementary school. He made breakfast for the two of them. He noticed Shelby had been even more withdrawn ever since Luke had mentioned she was starting school, picking at her food at every meal and barely eating anything.

"Eat up, Shelby. You'll need your strength so you can learn things."

Shelby stared at her plate. Now and then she would nibble on a piece of bacon.

Luke brought her lunch he packed, over, setting it inside her backpack, noticing hardly any food has been touched. He kneeled beside her chair, holding a hand on the back of it. "Listen, I know it's scary going to a new school and I'm sure you're no stranger to a first day. This is the last time, I promise. You won't ever have to switch schools. I don't ever plan on moving us."

Her eyes were watering. She didn't turn her head or make any kind of movement.

"I'll be there when school lets out to pick you up. If something happens today, I can talk to your teacher right away and I will try my best to make it better."

Shelby continued to sit there, staring at her food. At least he got her to eat all of her bacon so she had something in her system.

When they were ready, Luke helped her with her shoes and jacket before they headed out to his truck.

At the elementary school, Luke led Shelby to the front office and filled out the necessary paperwork and gave the lady at the front desk Shelby's up to date immunization records Madison had given him.

The principle came out to meet Shelby first who hid behind her father's legs, wearing her hat and backpack.

"Welcome, Shelby," she tried to greet the little girl.

Luke explained about the hat when Shelby didn't respond.

As they started down the hallway towards the kindergarten classrooms, Shelby hooked her hand into Luke's, holding onto it, tight. Luke looked down at her and gave it a gentle squeeze. The three of them turned down another hallway where children's artwork covered the brick walls, stopping at the classroom on the very end before they reached a couple double doors. Different projects of a leprechaun were stapled to the wall over a large green papered background with a St. Patrick's day themed border.

Luke and Shelby waited outside while the principal, Mrs. Hardy, stepped into the classroom to fetch the teacher.

While still holding his hand, Shelby buried her face against his leg.

Truth be told, Shelby wasn't the only nervous one. This was technically Luke's first day milestone of being a dad. Didn't this usually come years after becoming a parent? Didn't dads get a few years to prepare for this? Luke only got a few weeks.

He looked around the hallway. Luke hadn't been there since him and his sister were kids, going to school there. He remembered Liz grabbing onto his hand on her first day as well.

Mrs. Hardy returned, this time with another woman, a little younger than Luke.

"Luke," she said, surprised.

"Hello, Darla," he gave her a nod.

Darla smiled at Shelby. "And who might this be?"

Shelby darted behind Luke's legs again, hiding.

"This is Shelby," he introduced.

"It's very nice to meet you, Shelby." Darla was leaning over, trying to look around Luke, who explained the hat to her as well.

Darla rose. "Oh. Well, um. That's not good."

"What do you mean?"

"One of our classroom rules is, no hats indoors. Shelby will have to keep her hat in her cubby," she explained.

"Can't you make an exception?"

She shook her head. "That wouldn't be fair to the other kids, Luke."

"When is life ever fair?" he questioned.

"That is true but in my classroom I try and keep things fair. I'm sorry. I can't let her wear her hat while reminding Johnny, a boy who I have to remind every time we come back from recess, to remove his hat."

"There's no harm in wearing a hat indoors." Luke tried to insist for his daughter.

"It's respectful to remove your hat when you're inside," she pointed out. He tried some more but Darla wasn't caving. "We've had plenty of shy little ones before. Shelby will be just fine."

Luke looked down at Shelby. He turned and kneeled to her level, lifting the brim to remove her hat. Shelby instantly reacted, trying to grab at the hat. Luke had to hold it behind his back. "Shelby, you can't wear the hat in your classroom. I tried to get them to cut you some slack. Can you go a day without it?" He could see the tears filling her eyes, refusing to make eye contact with anyone, including him. "I know you're scared. I'd let ya if I could."

Shelby wrapped her arms around herself, to hug herself and pinned her chin to her chest.

Luke watched, his heart breaking for the kid. "You can do this, Shelby. I know you can," he tried to encourage her. "You can put it back on while you're at recess."

"I have to make things fair, Shelby," Darla spoke up, as gentle and kind as possible. "I'm so sorry. I promise everyone is very nice."

Not knowing what else to do, Luke removed his hat. "How about this, if you can't wear yours, I won't wear mine. Deal?" Tears were starting to leak by now. She looked so pitiful, it was a challenge not to give her back the hat. He wrapped Shelby in his arms. "I'm sorry, kiddo."

Shelby pulled her arms out and clung to her father.

Luke kissed Shelby on the cheek.

Eventually, Darla stepped towards them and peeled Shelby away. The longer they prolonged it, the harder it would be.

Luke stood up, passing the hat to his daughter. Darla was the one who took it and led Shelby inside. It took everything to hold back as he watched her lead Shelby into the classroom. His heart thumped, harder as Shelby looked back at him, tears pouring down her cheeks.

When the door closed, Luke moved closer and watched through the long, narrow window. He could see Darla standing there with Shelby, facing the class who were all sitting at their tables. Shelby ended up breaking away and darted for a cupboard, crawling inside and closed the door. Luke started to run in there but stopped himself when he saw Darla go over.

Darla opened the cupboard, kneeling on one knee. She was talking to her but Luke couldn't hear what she was saying. After a few minutes, she tried to reach in for her, ending up falling backwards, avoiding an attack. There could have been a wild animal in that cupboard or something, judging by the reaction. Darla eventually gave up and let Shelby be for now and continued her lesson.

Luke stood at the door for forty minutes watching the class and waiting to see if Shelby would come out.

While Darla had the class sing some song about the letter R, she finally noticed he was still there. Luke thought she had brushed it off until Darla made her way towards the door once she got the kids started on a R practice. The kids wrote both upper and lowercase Rs while she went to have a chat with him.

"Luke, I thought you left?" Darla squeezed through the door, keeping her voice down until the door was closed again.

"I wanted to make sure Shelby was alright," he replied.

Darla smiled at him. "I figured. She'll be fine, I promise. They usually come out later on in the day."

"Are you sure? I mean, Shelby's caseworker says she stays hidden all day. I'm the second person she's warmed up to."

"Well, we'll see," she shrugged. "Shyness is nothing to worry about. A lot of kids go through a shy phase. As long as we make her feel welcome I'm sure Shelby will come out and join in the fun."

Luke stared at her. "Singing about an R taking a stroll through a park is fun?" he questioned.

"Yes," she smiled, cheerfully. "The kids love it."

He just left it alone.

"Besides, don't you have a diner you should be openning?"

"Oh no, I have Cesar running things while I'm gone," Luke brushed it off.

Darla gave him a knowing look.

Luke gave in, reluctantly and headed outside.

All morning, the guy thought about how Shelby was doing, wondering if she had come out yet or not. He wondered if he should call or go back to the school to check on her. Shelby was the only thing on his mind as he took and ran orders.

Lorelai stopped by around lunchtime for coffee. "So how did it go this morning?"

"Apparently, her teacher doesn't allow hats in the classroom," he began, irritated.

"Oh. How that go?"

"Not good. Shelby cried and hid in a cupboard, refusing to come out. Just as her caseworker said, she attacked the teacher when she tried to get Shelby out. Shelby was still in there when I left."

"The first day is usually the toughest," she pointed out.

"Everyone keeps saying that. I don't think the worse will be over by tomorrow."

"You don't know that."

Luke looked at her, directly. "I've known Shelby for almost a month now. All I've heard come out of her mouth is one word, that's it."

Lorelai shrugged, "Talking isn't always the first thing a kid does when they meet someone new. The first step is usually joining the rest and hanging around everyone else. Then, when she's comfortable she'll speak up."

"If things progress like it has, Shelby's looking like she'll have to repeat kindergarten and I'll look like a terrible father because she's repeating a grade that all you do is cut and paste things together, and sing songs about letters taking a stroll through a park."

"What?" Lorelai wasn't sure what that last part meant or where it came from.

"They were singing about the letter R, this morning," he explained and wandered down the counter.

She moved on. "Luke, you're not a terrible father. You're doing great so far."

"Sure doesn't seem like it." Another customer had asked for a refill on coffee. Grabbing the coffee pot, Luke poured him a cup. "Ever since Friday when I told her she would be starting today, she stopped eating all of her food. She only wakes up dry if I let her sleep in my bed. Shelby hides whenever someone comes into contact with her."

"She's scared, Luke. Shelby spent the first five years moving from one place to another, not knowing anybody."

"Shelby knew her caseworker for all that time. Never warmed up to her, either. I still can't figure out what made me so special," he walked back over to Lorelai.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"She's scared of everyone. Shelby meets me, suddenly, two weeks later I take her to get ice cream and go fishing, suddenly I'm okay in her book."

She laughed. "You are her dad, Luke. You took her to do things."

"What about the ones who wanted to adopt her?" he pointed out.

"Did they even get her out of the house? 'Cause I was under the impression Shelby refused to go with any of them."

Luke thought back to what Madison had told him, looking towards the floor. "No," he shook his head after a moment.

It hit for Lorelai. "I bet no one thought of something like the hat trick."

"So, you're saying she warmed up to me because I gave her my hat and told her it'll make her invisible?"

She nodded. "Yup. We made better progress than any of them did."

He shrugged at the floor. "Let's just hope we didn't take a step backwards with that stupid 'no hat' rule."

At 2:15, Luke was back at the school, waiting with the other parents. The teacher's aide led Shelby's class out with the other students. Going over to her, he asked where Shelby was. Luke wasn't all that shocked to find out she was still hiding in the cupboard. He headed inside and opened the door to the classroom.

Darla was sitting on the edge of the table, closest to the cupboard with one leg higher than the other and her arms folded.

"Has she been in there all day?" he asked her.

She nodded. "She ate her lunch in there when I took the kids to the cafeteria."

Luke looked over to the cupboard then back at Darla. "Are you sure you can't cut her some slack with the 'no hat' rule. I mean, it worked with me and at her old school."

"I'm sorry, Luke," she slowly shook her head.

He looked at the cupboard again. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Luke went over and opened it, kneeling to her level. "Hey, kiddo. Ready to go home?" His question was answered when Shelby leaped out at him and held onto him, tight. Luke closed the cupboard as he stood up.

Darla had gone over to Shelby's cubby and retrieved her hat, giving it back to Luke, telling them they'll try again tomorrow.

Luke carried Shelby outside and ended up carrying her all the way to the diner. The minute he set her on her feet, Shelby rushed upstairs. She returned, drying her now wet hands on her shirt, peeking around the corner. Luke had stepped into the back, to grab another can of coffee grounds and returned right behind her.

"Behind ya, kiddo," he told her.

Shelby jumped at his voice and spun around.

Luke walked past her. "Want a snack?"

She nodded.

"Are you gonna finish it?"

That time she shrugged.

Luke set the can on the counter so he could lift Shelby and set her on the end. "Listen, we need to talk about what happened today." Catching the terrified look she got, Luke added, "you're not in any trouble." He leaned both hands on either side of her. "Can you do me a favor, tomorrow?"

She shrugged one shoulder.

"Can you sit in your assigned seat and do your work. You can't have the hat, Mrs. Carnell has spoken and I can't get her to budge. So you're gonna have to go with it. She says you can wear it at recess if you want to."

Shelby shook her head, repeatedly.

"There's no choice, kiddo. You have to go by what Mrs. Carnell says. She's the teacher and what she says, goes, in her classroom."

Shelby stared down at her lap.

"And I don't like you barely eating. You're already thin as it is."

She sucked in on her lip.

Luke touched his forehead to hers. "Hey. I'm just looking out for ya. I love you, kiddo and I just want you to know you're a great kid."

That made her look up at him. When he smiled for her, Shelby gave him a small one, back. Luke had hoped that was enough incentive to try the next day, but it wasn't. Every day for the rest of the week and the following week, as soon as Luke dropped her off, Shelby went straight for the cupboard and hid there. The only one that could get her out was Luke at the end of the day.

In the afternoons, while Luke worked, he would have Shelby sit at a table in the corner and work on the classwork she'd miss, helping her in between taking customer's' orders. Whenever Lorelai came by the diner she'd try and strike up a conversation with the kid, avoiding yes or no questions.

"What's your favorite color?" she'd ask or a similar question to that and wait for Shelby to answer.

Luke eventually came by with her burger and fries. She would shush him even when he was just repeating her order.

Standing up one day, she pushed him away so Shelby couldn't hear them. "Rory and I researched Shelby's case of shyness. She may not be just plain shy."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You would have to get it diagnosed by a professional to be sure but Shelby may have what they're calling, selective mutism."

"Selective mutism?"

"It's an anxiety disorder that makes a kid clam up in situations they're not comfortable in," she explained.

"Shelby seems comfortable with just me and she's not speaking."

"Because, she's probably not one hundred percent comfortable with you yet." Lorelai went back over to the table and grabbed a stack of papers printed off the internet and handed them to Luke. "Here, read this over when you have a chance. If the parents, that's you, can practice speaking at home, Shelby can get better at it outside the home."

Luke scanned through the first page. It was worth a shot. He read through it later that night after he closed the diner and gave it a try.

"Shelby, want to take a bath or shower?"

Shelby laid behind him on the couch, playing her Gameboy. She looked up at him but couldn't hold her gaze so Shelby dropped it. Luke pulled the Gameboy out of her hands and told her she could have it back after she told him what she wanted, repeating the question. Shelby buried her face in her arms. He rubbed a hand along her back, gently and waited and waited and waited….

Fifteen minutes went by until Luke heard a muttered voice.

He lowered an ear and asked Shelby to repeat it.

"Ba'." It was quiet as a mouse and not the full word but Luke accepted it, thanking her. Like he promised, Luke handed Shelby, back her Gameboy, letting her save her game. By the middle of the second week of school, Shelby was saying one-word sentences to him in his ear. She was still hiding in the cupboard at school, but at least Shelby was making progress at home.

One morning, Lorelai and Rory came in for breakfast, talking. Luke was at the counter, cutting up waffles for Shelby.

"Look, there's Lorelai and Rory, why don't you go over and say hi?" he suggested.

Shelby glanced over her shoulder at them and returned her gaze to her father.

"You can do it, kiddo," Luke encouraged her and moved around the counter to set her down on her feet, giving her a gentle push in their direction. He watched as Shelby slowly made her way over to where Lorelai and Rory were sitting.

Lorelai was the first to notice the little girl coming over. "Hey, sweetie," she greeted, cheerfully.

Shelby waved her hand.

"What's that? I can't hear you?" She pointed her ear in the kid's direction.

Shelby just stood there, silently.

Luke came over and ran a hand over the top of her head. "Just say hi, kiddo. You can do it."

Shelby opened her mouth. No words came. Instead, her eyes glossed over and she buried her face into her father's leg.

"Maybe wait til the place isn't crowded with people," Rory suggested.

"Thought I'd give it a shot," he shrugged and looked down at his daughter. "I'm sorry, kiddo." Luke reached down and rubbed her back in soothing circles before pulling a pencil from behind his ear and pulled out his notepad.

"So," Lorelai changed the subject, "can you take a little constructive criticism?"

"Unless it's to help Shelby, no," he told her.

"Okay. This place could use a makeover," she suggested.

"How will that help Shelby?"

"Sprucing the place up, like a coat of paint, might cheer Shelby up."

"I don't spruce," Luke shook his head.

"What do you mean, you don't spruce?" Lorelai repeated.

Taylor, from next door spoke up at that point, sitting over at the counter. "What he means is, he _won't_ spruce. That's what he means."

Luke lifted his head, looking out the corner of his eye, annoyed. "Taylor, do not start."

The old man dropped his fork, letting it clang on the counter. He turned around to continue, "me and the rest of the town beautification committee have been hounding him for years to freshen up the place."

Luke leaned on the table, sighing under his breath and glared over at Lorelai, for bringing it up.

"Maybe a couple of nice zinnia pots out front, some yellow awnings, uh," he slightly paused for a second, "a peppy little cardboard pig announcing the specials, but he's a mule."

Luke dropped his head.

"He won't talk, he won't reason, he won't spruce."

Lorelai was stifling a laugh when he stood up straight again.

"You might as well forget it, Lorelai. I'm forgetting it, too," Taylor finished as he turned forward.

"Finally, a Taylor Doose I can get behind," Luke stated and lifted his notebook and pencil.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end, after all. "Faded paint is a bad reflection on the whole town."

"Whatever happened to giving up?" he questioned the old man.

"When standards slip, families flee and in comes the seedy crowd. You got trouble, my friends."

Lorelai grinned, "Right here in River City," and banged her hand down on the table.

Rory smirked and couldn't help let out a laugh.

"This is not funny, Lorelai," Taylor told her, in a serious tone.

"Does anyone want anything?" Luke asked of the two sitting there, annoyance very much record height at this point.

"Uh, yes, I do," Lorelai nodded, serious, now. "I want to know," she glanced at the table before she shot back up at him, "why won't you paint this place?"

"Painting's a pain," he replied, holding his hand out. "I'd have to close the place for a day, which I can't afford. Or, paint it in the middle of the night, which I don't want to do because I _hate_ painting," he looked at her, directly.

"Okay, how about this," she suggested. "I'll help you. I _love_ to paint."

"You do?"

"Yes," she smiled, big.

"You love it?"

"I want to marry it."

"You have strange passions," he stated.

"She likes washing dishes, too," Rory added and tilted her head, slightly. "She's multifaceted abnormal."

"Aww, come on," Lorelai exclaimed. "We'll drink a couple beers, we'll sing painting songs."

Luke questioned, "Painting songs?"

"Yeah, painting songs, like, um...you know the song," she looked at the table, again, "um…" Lorelai started to sing, " _Grab your brush and grab your rollers. All you kids and you...bowlers._ " She picked up her silverware and started playing the table like a set of drums. "We're goin' paintin' today." Lorelai glanced at Shelby. "Oh, is that a smile I see?"

Luke looked down just as Shelby reburied her face.

"That should be enough credit to say yes."

"For what?"

"For getting your kid to smile."

He looked around the place, holding his arms in front of him. "Well, I guess maybe...if...I had help."

Lorelai smiled over at her daughter, excited. She wasn't the only happy one.

"Really?" Taylor asked, his spirits raised. "That's wonderful. Hoo wah."

Luke lifted his head from his notepad, not liking the old man's enthusiasm. "Taylor, it's not for you, it's for me."

He came right over. "I can't wait to tell the rest of the committee. They're not gonna believe this," Taylor said and left the diner.

"I hate that he's pleased," Luke muttered but loud enough that Lorelai and Rory could still hear.

"Aw, you'll drop a gum wrapper in the street, in front of his store later," Lorelai told him.

"Yeah, good idea." He stared after the guy before walking away, lifting Shelby in the process. When Luke set her back on her stool, he leaned his arms on the counter. "Have I told you, you're my favorite?"

Shelby shook her head.

"Well, you are." With that said, Luke kissed her forehead and went to do his rounds.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Over the next week, Luke tried to find ways to bond with Shelby, asking what she would like to do. Normally, Shelby just liked playing her video game so he would sit with her and watch.

Shelby was snuggled up beside him on his bed, holding an arm around her. He noticed she was skipping through most of the dialogue but that didn't stop her from knowing how to play the game. Shelby just skipped over the story part. It gave Luke an idea. Figuring it was because she was still learning to read and didn't know what the dialogue said, he asked if he could read it out loud for her as if he was reading a book to her. Shelby nodded yes and stopped skipping over the words to let her father read them. In fact, she enjoyed it so much Shelby never played without her father there again. She even started a new game, naming the boy her own name like before. Shelby let Luke choose the starter, though.

"You want me to choose?"

Shelby nodded and showed him all three.

"Well...how about him? Turtles are cool."

She chose it and let Luke read what the professor and his grandson were saying and even let him give it a nickname.

Luke breathed in, letting it out. "A name for him, huh? Hm…" He thought about it for a moment. "How about Leonardo?" and helped her spell it. Unfortunately, it was one too many letters long. "Leonard is good too," Luke shrugged and smiled when Shelby looked at him.

As she battled her rival, Shelby laid her head on her father as Luke rubbed her side, up and down, slowly. Luke enjoyed times like this, even if it was playing a game he barely understood. If his kid liked it, that's all that mattered.

The following Thursday night, Lorelai came over to the diner to decide paint colors. Shelby was up in the apartment, watching cartoons.

"Now, this is another way to go," Lorelai was telling Luke, grabbing a paint sample and brought it over to the wall as Luke was tending to a couple of customers, "sort of a French bistro kind of look."

"This isn't a French bistro," he pointed out.

"Really? Amazing," she replied, sarcastically. "The things you learn when you bother to listen."

"Which you usually don't." Luke started clearing away their plates.

"Yes, but then I don't have a lot of useless information intruding in my brain."

He muttered, "Thank God," out loud.

Lorelai moved to another sample, "Now, if you wanted to do more warm, golden Tuscan countryside…"

"Then I'd go to Italy," he finished for her and told the wife of the pair, he would wrap the rest of her food to go.

Moving on, Lorelai moved over to a sample by the door, "We could also go with a pastelly, english-country-garden theme." She let out a sigh of excitement. "Maybe we could add a little stenciling on the ceiling."

Luke was standing behind the counter, by now. "No stenciling," he told her.

"Excuse me, do you even know what stenciling is?"

He was looking for a to-go box when he glanced up at her. "Does Martha Stewart do it?"

"Yes."

" _No stenciling_."

At that point, Taylor walked in with a younger guy, named Kirk.

"Ask him," Taylor told Kirk, as they made their way over to where Luke was standing.

"I will," he replied.

Taylor gave him a gentle push in the back, "Well, go on."

"Don't push." The men stopped at the counter across from him. "Hello, Luke."

"What do you want, Kirk?" he asked as he set an open to-go box down.

"Taylor here, tells me, you're thinking of painting this place."

Lorelai was the one who happily answered. "That's right. He is."

Taylor raised a finger at the young man as he said, "Hah!"

"Excuse me, I'd like to hear it from him," Kirk responded, calmly and turned to Luke. "Luke, is...is this true?"

"Yes, Kirk, it is true." Luke looked at him.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"And this is your final decision?"

"I'm afraid it is," he told him.

"Because it's not too late…"

"You heard him," Taylor said. "He's painting this place. Pay up." He held his hand out to Kirk, palm facing up.

Kirk glanced at Luke, one last time before forcibly going inside his pocket and pulling out some cash, slamming it into Taylor's hand before storming from the diner, which he thanked him for.

"Sorry, man," Luke said after Kirk.

Kirk gave him a sour look, back over his shoulder. "It's a little late for that, don't you think?" With that said, he was gone.

When Taylor saw the paint sample by the door, he declared he liked it which meant it had to be cut from the options.

Eventually, the couple paid and left, leaving the two of them alone.

"Ready to talk paint" Lorelai asked.

"No," he replied, holding a beer now.

"Good," she pointed hers at him. "So, I've got all the choices set up, and while any one of them would work," Lorelai was backing away from Luke, to one of the samples tacked to the wall, "I think this combo is currently my favorite." She put her hand to the wall, "See? Imagine, which I know is a foreign concept to you," teasing him about not believing in the hat idea, in the beginning.

Luke wandered over to her, one hand shoved into his pocket, giving her one of his looks.

"This will be for the walls, and this will be for the trim. Like the edging around the doors and the windows."

He had been looking around the place, now. Luke looked back at her to tell her, "I know what the trim is," and looked away again.

"Okay," she said. "The colors are actually quite similar to what you have here now, but they're just a little richer, a little warmer. What do you think?"

Luke clicked his tongue, looking at the wall, ahead of him. "Well…"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Lorelai rushed past him, over to the light switch by the door. She turned off one of the lights. "Huh? A little ambiance?"

"This is a diner," he looked at the paint sample. "We don't do ambiance."

She returned to his side. "Alright, one argument at a time. So, what do you think?"

Luke breathed in and let it out, loudly. "Honestly? I have no idea. Do you like it?" He looked at her.

"Yeah," she nodded, softly.

"Okay."

"Good."

The door opened and somebody with a camera came in, snapping a photo.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked of him.

"Oh, um," he lowered his camera. "The town council wanted to do a before-and-after poster."

"Out," Luke waved his hand at him as he made his way over to the guy. The guy took one last shot before dashing out of there. Luke shut the door behind him and locked it, turning the sign to close. "That's it. We're closed for the night," he announced, walking away from the door, looking elsewhere.

"You know, listen," said Lorelai, "since you have to take everything off the walls, anyway, now might be a really good time to decide what stuff you're gonna keep and what stuff you're gonna get rid of." She walked over to sit on one of the stools, grasping her beer in both hands.

Luke was wandering around the diner. "Everything stays," he said, firmly.

"Okay. There's a plastic dancing pork chop that says…"

"Everything stays."

"'I lost my head over a good chop you should too?'"

"Everything stays," he reiterated.

"Okay," she gave in, reluctantly. "Everything stays."

"You know, this place hasn't been painted since my dad was alive," Luke admitted.

"No, I didn't know that."

"He painted it before he opened it. Once more when the roof caved in one winter," he pointed at the ceiling as he moved slowly around the tables. "I think that's probably it."

Lorelai shrugged, "The paint lasted a long time. Got his money's worth."

"Yep," Luke replied, holding a hand on one of the beams. "He really loved this place, you know?" He looked around, sliding his hand into his pocket again, letting out a breath of air. "The store was his life. Mine, too, I guess." He moved forward. "I spent every minute I wasn't in school, in here. And, I spent a lot of minutes I was _supposed_ to be in school, in here, too."

"How come you opened a diner? Why didn't you keep it a hardware store?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I didn't love the hardware business the way my dad did. I knew how to cook, so I just thought a diner would be more…," he shrugged, forward, "fun."

Lorelai smiled at him and laughed. "That's a hard word for you to say."

Luke gave a chuckle. "Yeah," he muttered, softly. "I just always wanted to work here," Luke took another breath in, letting it out, "just where Dad did."

"God, that's nice," she replied, softly, as well. "To be so...I don't know, connected to your dad." Lorelai shook her head, slightly, "that's… I would have loved that."

"Well, you got that with Rory," Luke pointed out.

"Yeah," she smiled. "I guess so. And, I bet you'll have that with Shelby, someday."

Luke smiled at the floor. After a moment, he remembered something about his father. "You know, I still think there's a spot on the wall, somewhere where my dad took an order one day when he ran out of paper."

"Really? Where?"

He shrugged his hand at his side. "I don't know. Behind the counter, maybe." Lorelai got up to go look. "Next to the door." He followed along as she looked for it. "On the right side." The two of them found it on the side of the cabinetry, sitting on the floor.

"Three hammers," Lorelai read, "phillips-head screwdriver…"

"And, three boxes of nails," he finished, sitting next to her and added, "in assorted sizes."

She smiled, "Wow."

"I've seen it from time to time."

Lorelai laughed.

"Yeah, well, I...I guess it is time for a little spruce," Luke admitted.

"Yeah," she nodded in agreement, looking around the place. "It is." Lorelai looked at him. "But, let's not spruce this particular spot."

He smiled and nodded. "That sounds good." Things grew silent as the two stared at each other. That is until they were interrupted by Taylor and some of the other committee members. "Aw, jeez." Luke made to stand when Lorelai stopped him, assuring him they'll go away. They stood up onto their hands and knees, watching from around the counter. Sure enough, after a while, the crowd did give up and go away.

"Thank you," Luke told her.

Lorelai chuckled. "You're welcome," she turned her head to realize Luke was inches away and staring at her until he suddenly jumped. Lorelai jumped because he did, looking to see why. Shelby was standing nearby behind the counter.

"Aw, jeez. Shelby, I didn't see you there," he moved backwards, sitting back on his heels.

"I should go, anyways."

"Oh, yeah." The two stood to their feet.

"Uh, so...It's gonna be great." Lorelai tossed up her hands before stepping around the counter, to grab her jacket and purse.

"Oh, I'm sure it is," he agreed. The two said, "see ya" before Lorelai left.

Luke took in another breath, taking a drink of his beer afterwards when he caught a look from his kid. Shelby had a confused look on her face.

He playfully made a grab at her stomach.

Shelby stepped away, covering the spot where he had grabbed her with both of her hands.

"Sorry it's late. Are you ready for dinner?"

She nodded up at him. "Soup," she muttered, softly.

"You want more of that soup I made, last night?"

Again, she nodded.

Luke nodded towards the stairs before Shelby turned and headed in that direction, following after her. Upstairs, he warmed up some leftover soup, asking she at least eat most of it, if not all. Luke headed back downstairs, to start cleaning up for the night.

The phone rang.

"Yeah?"

" _Luke, Stella got out, and I don't know. Do I put seed on the floor? Do I make cheeping sounds, or do I pull a Lucy Ricardo and, uh, walk like a chicken so she thinks I am her mother?"_

Luke had started cleaning, moving things off and spraying down the counter to wipe it with cleaning solution. "Who the hell is this?"

" _What do you mean, who is this? It's Lorelai. Who'd else would call you, looking for her baby chick?"_

"You're right," he said, sarcastically while scrubbing down a particular spot. "I'm the idiot. Go on."

" _Could you come over here, please, and help me?"_

"Uh...I don't have someone to watch Shelby while I'm gone," he hesitated.

" _Bring her along. She can help search for the baby chick, too,"_ she told him.

"Wait, you really do have a baby chick loose in your house?"

" _Yes, I told you I did."_

"Okay. Yeah, sure. We'll be right over."

" _Okay, hurry!"_ The call ended.

Luke hung up the phone and headed back upstairs. "Hey, kiddo. Lorelai just called and needs our help. You almost done with your soup?"

Shelby took another bite.

He went over to look at her bowl, surprised to find a little more than half gone already. "You really like that soup, huh?"

Shelby nodded.

Luke ruffled the top of her hair, kissing it. "Proud of you, kiddo." He grabbed her shoes, sitting on the chair next to hers, to help put them on. Shelby wanted to put them on, herself but let Luke tie them. Once their jackets were on, they headed out to his truck and drove over to Lorelai's place to find the place a mess.

"Okay." It sounded like Lorelai was out of breath. "The last sighting was here," she led Luke more into the living room. Shelby followed, wearing her hat but held it above her eyes so she could see what's going on. "By the _In Style_ magazine. But then she burrowed through the _Glamour_ and jumped over the _Cosmo_ and knocked over a brand new bottle of nail polish, all I can tell you at this point is, if there was any doubt this chick is a girl, well there isn't anymore."

A small, yellow blur dashed behind Shelby's feet, chirping. Shelby quickly moved out of the way as the adults hurried after it. When she joined them, curiously, it scared it to the other side, towards the kitchen. Luke ran after it, trying to cut it off and complained the chick cut him off instead. The two chased after it, or tried to at least while Shelby stayed back and watched.

Luke and Lorelai chased the chick until they eventually lost it again. Luke continued searching, using a flashlight to check dark corners.

"I swear, she went over there," Lorelai said from the couch.

Luke was sidling from behind the piano. "We looked over there." He checked near the window.

"Well, she went under that chair and didn't come out."

"We moved the chair, searched the floor. Nothing." Luke was now moving along as he searched.

"Well, she went under the chair and went through a hole in the floor."

"There is no hole in the floor," he argued.

"Maybe there was a hole in the floor and she crawled through it and fixed it," she pointed out.

Luke checked around the book case. "So, she's a super intelligent chick with great physical and deductive skills."

"Yes," she replied.

"Oh, then this is not a chick I wanna find." He moved on to the fireplace, moving the fencing away, to look inside.

"Hey, Luke, what did you mean earlier?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"On the phone, you made some comment about me not having a chick in the house."

"Huh," was all Luke said as he continued to look.

"I mean, if I didn't have a chick here," she continued, "why did you think I was calling?"

Luke started stumbling on his words, trying to answer. "No, I thought you were calling about the chick."

"Didn't seem like it."

"Well, maybe didn't seem like it," he looked around a floral arm chair, "but it was."

"Was...what?" she asked.

Luke sat back on his heels. "Was what I...thought," he tried to explain. "C-can we just keep looking?"

"Okay. I just s-still think…"

"There she is!" Luke pointed out.

"Where?"

"There!" Luke made a beeline right for the chick, breaking a lamp and missing the chick completely. It ran off right in the direction towards Shelby, who squatted down and held her hands out for the chick to run right into. The little girl scooped it up and held her hands around it, gently so the chick couldn't jump out.

"Yay! Shelby got it." Lorelai cheered, happily. "Good job, sweetheart. You're a lot better at this than we are."

Luke managed to pull himself up, onto one knee, using the back of the chair for support. "Nice job, kiddo," he also added.

Lorelai took the chick from the kid and took it over to its cage where the chick belonged while Luke picked up the pieces to the now broken lamp. Shelby had followed, watching. "High five," she told her.

Shelby looked at the woman's raised hand which Luke had overheard and stopped to see how she would respond. Shelby ended up, holding her hand up, cautiously. Lorelai high fived it, softly.

"How about a reward for helping us catch Stella?"

She shrugged.

Luke couldn't help smile. He finished picking up the pieces, putting them all into a box to take outside to the dumpster.

"You don't have to do that," Lorelai told him when she noticed him walk by.

"This stuff is sharp," he replied. "I wanna get it out of the way."

"Well, thanks for helping." Lorelai pulled a package of poptarts out of the pantry and handed it to Shelby. "Both of you." She gave the little girl, a warm smile.

"No problem. "I'm gonna throw this stuff outside. I'll be right back, Shell." Luke headed out the back door. Shelby ended up following after him, running a little until she caught up to him. "I was coming right back," he assured her when Luke noticed she came with him. Shelby stopped in her tracks when she saw they weren't alone. Luke looked to see what she was staring at.

Dean was standing there, holding a bag of garbage. "Hey."

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?"

"You first."

"I'm...looking for a chick."

Dean scoffed. "Yeah, me too."

"You are not," Luke argued.

"Well, neither are you," he argued in return.

Lorelai came out at that point. "Hey, Luke, is there…" she noticed Dean standing there. She moved over to the railing, smiling. "Dean."

Luke turned to face the boy again.

"Uh, Lorelai, hi," Dean greeted her, caught.

"Fancy meeting you here."

"Yeah," Luke agreed.

Dean started to explain when Rory came out of the house next door, talking about jell-o when she noticed Luke and her mother out there, as well.

"Rory," Luke greeted as Lorelai said, "Hi."

"Uh, what the hell are you two doing?" Lorelai asked.

Dean and Rory both tried to say it was nothing, that they just had dinner and that nothing else happened, stuttering on their words.

"So, what were you guys doing?" Rory asked of the adults, not noticing Shelby standing there since she was behind her father.

"Oh, uh, I was in the house," Lorelai started.

Luke added, twisted around to look at Lorelai, "And the lamp sort of…" and just said they were going to head home and apologized about the lamp.

"Oh, forget it," she assured him.

Luke dropped the stuff into the dumpster and headed straight for his truck. Shelby had to dash after him again, just to keep up.

On the drive home, Shelby was trying to open her poptarts, pulling at it with her teeth.

Luke finally noticed. "Give it here," he took them from her and opened the end she had been biting on, on top of the steering wheel. "You know, you don't really need sugar before bed." Pulling out one of them, Luke passed it to Shelby, telling her she can have the other one, tomorrow. He would let it slide for now since she ate a lot more of her dinner than she had been.

When they got back to the diner, Shelby took a bath and changed into her pajamas. She refused to go to sleep until Luke came back up from cleaning the diner. As soon as Luke came out of the bathroom and got into bed, the kid was crawling up beside him.

"Are you ever gonna be sleeping in your own bed?" he asked.

Shelby frowned.

"It's fine," Luke assured her, at least for now. Eventually, once she got more comfortable he would work on getting Shelby back to her own bed. As she laid down. Luke wrapped an arm around her. "Listen, you did really good, tonight. Eating most of your dinner and catching the chick. It took a lot of bravery to catch Stella, huh?"

Shelby looked away with just her eyes.

Luke brushed some hair behind her ear. "You think you can use some of that bravery to sit in your assigned seat, tomorrow, at school?"

She looked at him.

"For me?" To his relief, Shelby nodded. Luke leaned forward to kiss her head.

The next day, Luke dropped Shelby off at her classroom. He couldn't help watch through the window again, to see if she was able to keep her word. Shelby walked inside the room, taking one step at a time as she made her way over to the tables where the other kids were just sitting down.

Darla noticed when she looked up from the computer and smiled over at Shelby. She started to make her way over. At the last minute, Shelby booked it into her cupboard.

Luke let out a sigh. They were so close, too.

However, when he returned that afternoon to pick Shelby up, Darla had some good news.

"She came out?" Luke stared at the woman, surprised.

She nodded. "Shelby crawled out and over to my desk and listened while I read a story before one of the boys pointed her out. It spooked her back into the cupboard. But at least it's progress."

Luke couldn't help smile and agree.

Saturday, they went with Lorelai to stop by the hardware store to pick up everything they needed to paint the diner. Shelby sat in the middle of Luke's truck. Now and then she would steal a look from underneath her hat, at Lorelai, as the adults talked. At the store, Shelby stayed glued to Luke's side as they talked to someone about paint.

Luke didn't think they needed all the paint cans they got but Lorelai insisted on it. He kept double-checking with her, even after they got to the diner and started unloading.

"Oh yeah," she replied. "You need enough for two coats and touch-ups, and little spots. No, I'm not sure," Lorelai finally admitted.

They carried some of the stuff over to the diner's doorstep. "Well," said Luke, "we got the paint, and the brushes, and the tarps, and all the other stuff the paint guy said we'd need, so I guess we're ready."

"Yes, we are."

"The only thing left to do is figure out when."

"How about Friday?" she suggested.

"Friday?"

"Yeah. I mean, you don't want this stuff sitting around. I don't know if paint goes bad, but judging by the smell when it's fresh, rotten paint would be really gross."

"Don't you have dinner with your folks on Friday?" he questioned.

"Well, yeah. I can get out early for a special occasion."

"Friday it is," Luke nodded.

"Good," she smiled.

"Good."

Lorelai was about to turn to leave when Shelby returned with something in her hands. She waved bye at the kid when Shelby held it out to her, shyly. "For me?" Lorelai took it as Shelby looked away at the ground.

Curious, Luke moved closer to look at what it was. It was a picture drawn in crayon of Rory's chick, with the caption, _thank u for the pop tot_ , all little kid style.

"Aw, I love it. Thank you, Shelby," Lorelai looked it over and smiled over at the kid. "And you're very welcome."

Shelby tried to make eye contact but ended up dashing behind Luke.

The adults gave each other a hopeful smile that Shelby was finally slowly poking her head from her shell.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next morning, Luke had a softball game to go to. Shelby stood behind the fence, watching as she held onto it. It was the usual zero to zero game, with Kirk running his mouth and nearly getting killed before running off to save his skin. When Shelby grew bored, she played with her truck in the dirt. The rain softened the earth for the most part but used some of her drinking water to pour on the dirt underneath. She also used her hands and the heels of her shoes to dig deeper. By the time the game was finally over and someone got a run, the kid was covered in wet dirt.

Luke sighed under his breath when he saw his daughter. Kneeling to her level, he reached out and had Shelby stand, to brush off some of the dirt. Luke brushed what he could from the front of her jeans and from her jacket sleeves and poured some of his water over her hands and his, too when he was done. He had never met a girl who liked to get dirty as much as Shelby did. His sister never liked it, but then again, Liz liked the girly stuff like dolls and stuff. Luke recalled his nephew getting dirty, once or twice so he always thought it was a boy thing.

"Hey, want to play catch?" Luke asked of Shelby once he got her cleaned up as much as possible, for now.

Shelby shrugged.

"Up to you," he assured her.

She nodded, a little.

Luke stood up and had her follow inside the field.

Shelby set her truck on the inside of the fence and stood on home plate while Luke stood a few feet away, halfway to the pitcher's mound.

"Ready?"

She nodded.

Luke tossed the softball, underhand.

Shelby tried to catch it. The ball missed her hands and rolled away. She hurried after the ball. The ball was big enough the kid had to hold it in both hands. Luke realized that when she tossed it. Shelby was aiming for him but the ball flew into the air instead and Luke had to move forward to catch it while she backed away.

So, Luke decided to run to the store and grab a baseball instead and even got her a glove, her size. They returned to the park. This time, Shelby left her truck in her father's truck.

"Okay. Ready?" he asked, back in their original positions.

Shelby nodded.

Luke tossed the baseball, aiming where Shelby held her glove. She moved the glove under and tried to catch it. The ball bounced out of the glove and onto the ground, tempting to roll back to Luke. Shelby hurried after it.

"Remember how I showed you?" Luke mimicked the way he showed her. Shelby tried to do the same. Luke went over and helped position her fingers and elbow. "Just like that." He hurried back over to his spot and punched his glove. "Let's see what you got."

Confused, Shelby stared at him and held out the ball to show him.

Luke couldn't help chuckle. "I meant, throw me the ball," he teased her.

Shelby looked at the ball and repositioned her arm like her father showed her.

"Yeah, that's it, Shell." Luke held up his glove.

Shelby threw the ball, putting all she had into the throw.

Luke only had to move one foot forward to reach out and catch it. "That was a great throw, kiddo," he praised, receiving a smile that she was happy to have done good. "Ready?" Luke tossed it back. Shelby reached out to try and catch it. It took a few tries before she finally caught one. When she did, Shelby jumped up and down, excited. She abruptly stopped, turning red from embarrassment.

"You did good, kiddo," Luke praised her some more. "Proud of you." They continued to play catch for a while. Shelby did most of the running but every few throws, Luke had to go catch one he missed. As the minutes went by and the two continued, Shelby was enjoying it more and more.

After thirty minutes, Luke asked if she wanted to learn how to hit the ball. Shelby dashed over and grabbed the bat he left hanging on the fence, dropping her glove on the ground. She brought it back over to her dad.

Luke kneeled beside her and helped position the bat in Shelby's hands, making sure her knuckles lined up. When she was all set, Luke moved over to his spot and tossed the ball, underhand, over home plate.

Shelby got scared the first few times, backing away.

"Don't be afraid of the ball, kiddo. You can do it," he cheered her on. "Ready?"

She repositioned her hands which Luke reminded her to line up her knuckles, keeping the bat elevated, and tossed the ball. That time, Shelby swung at it but missed. She hurried after the ball and threw it back for him. The two kept at it until Shelby hit it at least once as Luke threw out encouragement and pointers. After a few tries, Luke could tell Shelby was starting to get frustrated, looking like she might cry.

"It's okay, Shell. You'll do it." He tossed another one, trying to make it as perfect for her as possible. The problem was she either swung too early or too late. "Let the ball get right in front of you." Luke tossed another one, hoping this one connected with aluminum. When he heard the clanging sound, relief poured over him like rain. It didn't go far. The ball landed towards the ground and rolled past him. Luke hurried over to grab it. "See? I knew you could do it."

Luke walked over and held his hand out to her for a high five.

Shelby held hers up which he smacked, gently.

"That was great, kiddo."

A huge smile was across the kid's face. "Again," she said, softly.

"Again?"

She nodded.

So, Luke backed up to his spot and continued.

Shelby missed the next few. The sixth time, she managed to hit the ball again. This time it flew up in the air. Luke held his glove out to the side and barely caught it, praising her some more. Shelby never wanted to stop but Luke had to get back to the diner. He assured her they can always come back another day.

Once they got back to the diner, they headed up to the apartment. Luke gave Shelby her bath, early and had her change into another clean pair of jeans and a long-sleeved striped shirt and set her up with cartoons while he showered and got changed.

When Luke came out of the bathroom, dressed, Shelby was playing with her toys on the coffee table.

"What would you like for lunch?" Luke headed for the kitchen and looked in the fridge.

Shelby stood up and went over to point at the pot of soup still in the fridge. Luke pretended to not see what she was pointing at, trying to get Shelby to verbalize what she wanted for lunch.

"Soup," she said, softly.

"You really like my soup, huh?"

She nodded up at him. He wasn't knocking it. At least Shelby was eating better. So, Luke pulled the soup out and warmed up a bowl for her. There was only one bowl left so once Shelby had her lunch, he made a sandwich for himself.

"I have to work downstairs, in the diner for a few hours," he told her while they were sitting at the table. "Why don't you come down and hang out. You can bring your toys or color."

Shelby shook her head.

"Come on, Shell. You can't always stay up here by yourself. Maybe Lorelai and Rory will swing by." Who was he kidding? Of course they would. Those girls practically lived at his diner.

Shelby shook her head, again.

Luke sighed under his breath. "Okay," he gave in. Once he finished eating, Luke kissed Shelby on the head, letting her know he'll come up and check on her in a little while and spent the rest of the afternoon working.

Lorelai did stop by. Things got awkward when he brought up, he saw Rory with someone at the game that morning and learned it was her father, and walked away. He kept an eye on the guy when Rory and her father came in, shortly afterwards.

The next week ended up being spring break for Shelby, so the kid ended up being home. To Luke's surprise, Shelby wanted to go back to the park and play catch again. This time when she managed to hit the ball, she ran around the bases. Luke watched, laughing at the scene as she rounded second, then third, and finally, crossed home and jumped onto the plate with both feet.

"And Shelby scores a homerun!" He held his arms up in the air.

Shelby smiled over him.

Kirk had ended up passing through and seen the two playing catch. "Hey, Luke. How does it feel to have a child be better than you?" he called over from the other side of the fence.

"Kirk." Luke glared over at the guy, giving him a warning look.

Kirk turned and continued on his way.

Shelby looked back and forth at the men.

"Don't worry, Shelby. Kirk is harmless. Not bad at all," Luke assured her.

Besides gaining a kid, Luke also gained an assistant. Besides playing catch, Luke helped out when folks needed a repair and of course Shelby tagged along. She would pass him a tool (that wasn't sharp such as a saw) whenever Luke asked for something.

Shelby would watch what he's doing. After a while she managed to work up the courage to ask, "What you doing?" It was her first complete sentence.

Luke was so excited. He didn't make a big deal out of it, in fear it might frighten her. Instead he just answered the question, explaining in terms she would be able to understand. "Would you like to learn?" he asked afterwards.

Shelby just shrugged one shoulder.

So, since then, Luke started teaching his kid. If she was going to be his assistant, may as know what she's helping him repair. Friday evening Shelby even helped, as best as she could, set up to paint the diner.

"I help?" she asked when they were finished.

"We'll see. Okay?"

Shelby nodded.

"Hey, would you like a donut?" Luke offered. It had been a long week and the kid had been such a hard worker. He was still nervous about raising a daughter but it didn't seem as bad as he thought it would be. Luke couldn't help have just as much of a good time as Shelby seemed to have.

That brightened her face and nodded.

Before he could pretend to not notice the head movement, Shelby was dashing into the kitchen where they moved everything and climbed onto one of the stools, herself.

Luke followed and lifted the glass dome off and grabbed the one she pointed to. "Can you sit flat, kiddo? You're making me nervous," he told her, heading towards the fridge. Shelby maneuvered herself carefully until she was sitting flat on her bottom.

"You want some milk?"

She nodded with a mouth full of donut. Crumbs and frosting stuck to both of her lips.

He grabbed the milk and poured some into a glass, bringing it over to the kid. Shelby took the glass and washed down the donut.

"Tank you," she muttered, softly.

"You're welcome, kiddo," Luke smiled.

The two waited for Lorelai to show any minute so her and Luke could start painting. Luke wasn't sure if he should just start or wait. But as minutes turned into hours, he realized she wasn't coming and decided to get his daughter inside before she caught a cold.

Once Shelby was in her pajamas, she asked, "Why you sad?"

Luke had been trying to hold a smile for his daughter especially when she was too adorable not to. "You think I'm sad?"

She nodded.

He smiled. "I'm not sad."

Shelby went and grabbed Pikachu from behind where Luke was sitting on the bed. She brought the toy back and held it up to his face. "Pikachu tinks you sad."

"Does he now?" Luke teased his daughter and lifted her up and playfully tossed her on the bed. He tickled her torso and sides, causing Shelby to giggle. They weren't out loud and Shelby was trying her best to stifle them. It was a losing fight for the kid. "Hey," he said when Luke stopped to let her catch her breath. "How about we end your spring break with a camping trip, this weekend?"

Shelby nodded up at her dad with a smile.

Luke leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Love you, kiddo. Always."

"Love you, Dad," she repeated.

His heart fluttered with warmth when he heard his daughter tell him she loved him back. Luke couldn't help smile. It certainly made his day for his daughter to tell him she loved him for the first time.

Even though he put her to bed, Shelby didn't fall asleep until Luke came back up, after putting the diner back to normal. Both of them still woke early the next morning and packed up his truck for their trip.

While Luke was carrying the fishing equipment out to the truck, Lorelai finally appeared.

"I feel horrible," she began.

"Don't," he assured her and started to move.

"I stood you up and didn't even call."

"It's okay." Luke took the stuff over and set them inside the truck bed.

"I'm a rat," she continued. "We had a date and I stood you up."

He shrugged his hands out, "It wasn't a date. It was just to paint."

"I'm a rat, I need cheese."

"Forget it." Luke turned to head back inside where Shelby was trying to carry their baseball gloves, the bat, and the ball, all in her arms. He took the bat, to relieve some of the load. "You want to play catch on our trip?"

She nodded at him, her hat hanging on her head, backwards so the kid could see where she's going.

Luke playfully grabbed at the top of her head and tossed the bat in beside the fishing rods while Shelby wandered around him to set the gloves up there. She moved back so he could lift the tailgate. While they would be gone, Luke had called and asked Caesar to run things for the weekend.

As the two started for the driver's side of the truck, Lorelai followed along.

"Hey, hey. Let's reschedule," she suggested.

"You know, I didn't want to do it in the first place," Luke pointed out.

"No, no, no. Don't change your mind," Lorelai pleaded. "We could do it...when you get back."

Luke huffed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Was it an emergency?"

"Yes," she replied. "You would not believe what happened. I slipped, and I busted my…" Lorelai looked up at him and shook her head instead. "It wasn't an emergency. It was just me being a rat."

Luke stared at the woman, serious. "Something came up?"

"Yeah."

He nodded off at nothing. "Something...some _one_. Am I right?"

"Luke… I'm sorry," she apologized, sincerely.

"Yeah, okay," he accepted, searching around at the sidewalk. "Uh, well. We have to head out before traffic gets too bad."

"Oh." Lorelai stepped to the side.

Luke locked up the diner before heading over to his truck and opened the door. He lifted Shelby inside, who sidestepped over to the other side, letting him slide in under the wheel. Luke started the engine and pulled away from the curb when their seatbelts were fastened.

After a long moment of silence, he felt a tap on his arm. "Hm?" he acknowledged Shelby.

"See wearing pjs ou'side," she said, softly.

It made him chuckle. "That she was," he nodded, watching the road ahead.

There was a long pause before she asked, "Why?"

"Why, what?"

"Wearing pjs ou'side?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. You would have to ask Lorelai." The radio was playing the song, "Life's a Dance," by the country singer, John Michael Montgomery. Shelby tried reaching for the knob to turn it up but couldn't reach. Noticing she was reaching for the radio, Luke switched over and turned the volume up a little more.

First thing the two of them did when they got there was go on a hike. Shelby ended up finding a stick and used it like a baseball bat to try and hit pine cones and rocks, taking a few tries before hitting them. The pine cones at least. She could never manage to hit the rocks.

While passing a river, Luke showed Shelby how to skip rocks, making sure to find the flat and smooth ones. The kid tried but only Luke was getting more than one skip on one rock.

"Just takes lots of practice," he assured her.

Luke had been able to tighten the hat for Shelby, to fit her head so it was snug right, facing forward where she could see. Over the summer he told Shelby he would teach her how to swim.

Eventually, the hike circled back around to their campsite where Luke made sandwiches for lunch. Things were quiet while the two ate. All that could be heard were the sounds the water in the lake made as a cool breeze blew. Birds chirped and sang off in the distance. Grey clouds covered the sky, blocking out the sun. Luke hoped the rain would hold off at least until he got the tent set up. Once they finished their sandwiches, he asked if Shelby remembered how to pitch the tent.

Shelby of course shook her head as her response. He pretended like he couldn't see it until she finally answered no, verbally.

Luke showed his daughter again, letting her help. With the tent up, Luke unloaded their bags and rolled out their sleeping bags inside. One could guess right what kind of sleeping bag Shelby had.

All settled in, Luke and Shelby sat over by the lake and fished for a few hours. It was an amazement how long the kid's attention lasted considering how much TV she spent watching as well as staring at a video game.

While they sat there, staring out over the water, Luke tried to hold a conversation to get Shelby more comfortable with talking.

"Um…" He thought about what to start with. "Did you have fun the past week?"

Shelby nodded but Luke wasn't accepting head motions anymore. It took a lot being tough with the kid, what with how timid she was. Even when he got tough-skinned, Luke kept some tenderness in his tone and waited for Shelby to speak, not moving on until she did. Even if it took an hour. Thankfully, it never took that long.

"Yes." Shelby stared at the dirt.

"Do you have a favorite what we did?"

There was a long pause before she answered. "Yes."

"What's your favorite?"

Shelby turned the dial on the handle of her reel, staring at it. "B-baseball."

Luke couldn't help smile. He rubbed a hand up and down her back, gently.

She looked up at him and smiled in return.

This time, Luke ended up the one with a bite, interrupting the two's moment. Letting Shelby help, the two reeled the fish in. It took a lot with the fish fighting for all it was worth, not wanting to be caught. In the end, the two were the victors. Luke unhooked and gutted the fish before setting it inside the white bucket sitting nearby. Casting his line back out, they continued fishing.

Forty minutes went by before Luke broke it again. He had been thinking about how much Shelby enjoyed playing catch. It might be good to get her on a team with kids her own age. "How would you like to play baseball on a team with other kids?"

Shelby shook her head. Remaining silent, waiting for an answer, she eventually said, "No."

"What if I try to volunteer to be a coach or assistant coach?" Being around a bunch of five-years-olds was not something Luke wanted to do. At Shelby's age, kids still had the sticky hands and bouncing around unable to sit still and picking their nose. But if it'll help Shelby, he'll suck it up.

Shelby continued to shake her head.

"Don't you want to play baseball and meet other kids?"

Shelby looked away at the dirt again.

"You don't have to talk to anyone. Not until you're ready. But I really think this is a good idea. It's a lot of fun playing on a team. Remember when you watched my game, last weekend, and how much of a good time we had?" Shelby still wouldn't say yes. Letting it go, Luke assured her he wouldn't force things, but at least told her to think on it and to let him know when she was ready.

They fished until around five that evening.

Luke built a campfire and cooked the fish they caught. He even showed her how to make s'mores, afterwards. It was cut short though when it finally started to rain and moved everything inside the tent, using a box flashlight for light. Luke used it to make shadow puppets, trying to entertain Shelby.

As time passed and it got later in the night, the rain continued to pour. It was a good thing Luke had a tent that could withstand rain and made sure to double check Shelby's work. It didn't seem so bad as rain tapped on the outside of the tent. Luke was forming a dog with his hands when thunder roared outside. It was loud enough to make Shelby jump in fright and climb into his lap.

"It's just thunder, kiddo. All it is, is sound. It can't hurt you," he assured her, holding his arms around Shelby. The kid huddled in his lap. In between the thunder, she moved off to grab Pikachu, but returned once she had her favorite toy. Shelby had a hard time falling asleep with the minor storm going on. Luke wasn't sure what to do or what to say. He just held and comforted her, feeling her small body tense up with every thunder roar and lightning strike.

Luke kicked himself for not checking the weather before coming up here. It had been rainy throughout the week, down in Stars Hollow. He should have known it would be raining up here as well. Luke was thankful for grabbing extra blankets and wrapped one around Shelby. He tried to talk to her some more to help take her mind off the storm but Shelby was in too much distress to focus. Instead, the two just sat there as Luke held onto her, protectively.

When Shelby had finally managed to fall asleep during a calm, Luke carefully laid her in her sleeping bag, covering her up with both the blanket and sleeping bag. He laid down in his, sharing the blanket. With a warm, protective arm around his daughter, Luke fell right to sleep though Shelby woke up a couple times throughout the night from the thunder and he had to calm her down as she huddled close to him.

The storm finally passed by early morning and the sun was shining when Luke was awakened by Shelby shaking his arm. Unzipping the flap, the two of them crawled out of the tent. Luke stretched, taking in the fresh, crisp morning air through his nostrils and into his lungs. Both of them went over in private and used the bathroom, washing their hands in the lake using a bar of soap.

Luke washed off the cooking utensils in the lake as well and fixed breakfast. After one last hike, they packed up and headed home.

On the drive back to Stars Hollow, Shelby decided to listen to her CD player Luke had gotten for her back before she had come to live with him, listening to her favorite singer. Luke had come to learn the kid's name was Billy Gilman and apparently was the youngest country singer just recently fresh within the last year. In fact, the CD Luke bought for her came out the previous summer and was the kid's first. Shelby played it so much at home on Luke's radio, Luke had become quite familiar with the words. She loved it that much and would always mouth along.

Luke listened to the radio as he drove while Shelby listened to hers with headphones. At first, he caught whispers, peeking over at the kid. Her eyes had closed but her mouth was moving so Luke knew Shelby hadn't fallen asleep. After a moment, he was caught off guard by what he heard. Figuring she had gotten into her music, Shelby was now singing where Luke could hear her and not karaoke, off-key singing either. The kid was singing along. Beautifully, he might add.

"Holy crap," he muttered out loud, to himself. Luke Danes' kid was already a talented singer? And of course it had to be the least favorite of Luke's she was singing, reminding him of her mother. It never felt right asking Shelby to turn it off or switch to another song. It just always reminded him of Rachel leaving. The song asked the same question Luke wondered, what was forever for?

Luke never drew attention about Shelby singing, not wanting to embarrass the kid. He finally pulled up to the diner around four in the afternoon. The first thing he saw through the window was the chairs already put up on the tables and someone inside, and it wasn't Caesar. Luke glanced at his daughter long enough to help her down and for her to move out of the way to close the door before returning his gaze inside.

Rushing for the entrance, Luke went inside, in complete and utter shock. "What the…?"

Lorelai breathed like she was out of breath, covered in paint. "Ta da!"

"How did you get in here? And where's Caesar?"

"Um, I convinced him to take the afternoon off," she replied.

"I'm finding a new cook," Luke announced, looking around at the freshly painted place.

Lorelai followed him around. "What do you think?"

"I think you shouldn't break and enter," he replied as Luke continued to move around.

"So, what do you think?"

"Well, I gotta admit," he gave in. "It looks pretty good. Don't you think, Shelby?"

Shelby gave him a thumb's up approval.

"I knew you'd like it," Lorelai snickered.

Luke thanked her, nonchalantly.

"Anytime. It's fun." She laughed some more.

Luke moved over and began setting the chairs down on the floor. "So, uh, where's the guy?"

She helped with the chairs. "Oh, he's gone."

He looked over at her. "Oh, too bad."

Lorelai moved to the table Luke was standing at. "We'll be fine."

Shelby tried to help too. Thankfully, Luke rushed over and caught the chair in time. Quick, cat-like parental reflexes kicking in and had her be supervised, letting Shelby help with whichever chair he put down. It was enough to let her think she was being helpful.

Lorelai tried suggesting curtains next, or tablecloths. Luke put his foot down, shooting down both suggestions and was not budging. Painting was enough.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Shelby went back to school on Monday. Luke tried to prep her to go right to her seat, encouraging her in all ways he could and she tried as much as she could but being away for a week made things a little hard and set things back a bit. Shelby did make an effort to come out throughout the day. One kid even came over to the cupboard where she was hiding and tried to talk to her. The kid even mentioned that she sits next to Shelby's seat at their table. Her name was Lydia, but everyone in the class called her Liddy. Liddy tried a couple times to come and include Shelby in the class activities. When she refused, Liddy started sitting outside the cupboard and would talk to her, telling Shelby random things about herself, or the teacher, or the classroom.

When Luke heard another kid had taken an interest in his daughter, he hoped Liddy would be the help they needed and even told the little girl she was welcomed over any time, to play with Shelby. Excited, Liddy went home and told her parents.

Friday came with the town prepping for their annual founder's day festival. Love felt like it was in the air. Luke didn't really care too much for it, focusing more on the diner and taking care of his kid.

Lorelai stopped by the diner around lunchtime, for coffee also not too keen on the festivities either.

"So, why so cheery?" he asked her.

"I don't know. I'm just in a mood," she brushed it off.

"But there's no particular reason _for_ this mood?"

"No."

"Hm mm," Luke scoffed.

"You don't believe me?" she questioned him.

Luke poured her coffee and returned the pot to its place, "I believe ya. If you say there's no reason for the mood, then there's no reason for the mood. Simply nuts." He picked up his pad of paper and pencil.

"Or bipolar," she added. "That's very big nowadays."

At that point, Taylor and Ms. Patty, who was sitting over at a table, started arguing about how the town was founded.

It tipped the iceberg for Lorelai, frustrating her more. "Can nobody talk about anything but this stupid festival?" The whole diner grew quiet and all eyes went to Lorelai. "That came out louder than it was supposed to, didn't it?"

Luke walked by and muttered, "Yep."

"Yep," she agreed.

"This festival is commemorating the founding of our town, young lady," Taylor scolded her.

Lorelai twisted around at him. "I know, Taylor. I'm sorry."

Luke looked up to add, "She's bipolar."

"Really?" Ms. Patty asked and leaned against her hand. "But you're so young."

"Uh, can I get you two anything else?" he asked of them, which both of them politely declined.

Luke returned behind the counter as Lorelai admitted, "I don't know what's wrong with me. This is a beautiful festival. People should be enjoying it."

"It's a crazy festival based on a nutty myth about two lunatics who in all probability did not even exist. And even if they did, probably dropped dead of diphtheria before age twenty-four."

Lorelai silently laughed, smiling as Luke continued.

"The town of Stars Hollow probably got its name from the local dance-hall prostitute, or two rich drunk guys who made up the story to make it look good on a poster."

"You are full of hate and loathing and I gotta tell you, I love it," she told him, now excited.

Luke leaned over on the counter. "Well, it's so good to have someone to share this hate with."

Lorelai laughed, "My pleasure."

"More coffee?"

"Yeah, please."

Luke topped off her coffee mug.

"Hey, tomorrow, if you have time, I'm planning on despising everyone who says, hey, how's it going?"

Luke agreed with a nod, "You're on."

Someone walked into the diner at that point and said, "Hey. How's it going?"

"Oh no, that's just too easy."

As Luke put the coffee pot back in its place, he realized that voice sounded familiar. No, it can't be. It couldn't. He turned around to see who had walked in and froze right on the spot. It was. "Rachel."

"Rachel?" Lorelai questioned. "Your Rachel?"

He gave a slight nod still staring at the woman.

Lorelai turned around to see for herself. "You're Rachel?"

"Yep," she nodded with a smile. "I'm Rachel."

His heart was thumping hard inside his chest. It was hard to breathe. This was really happening. Rachel had returned. His heart told him she might but his head said otherwise. Luke wasn't sure what to say. He was glad Shelby was in school. Lord knows he wouldn't want the kid to walk into this without preparation. Luke had said very little to Shelby about who her mother was and Shelby didn't ask about her mother. Not really. The only thing he really told her was that she had her mother's smile. That was it.

Finally, he managed to get some kind of words out. "What are you…? I mean, I thought you were in the Congo, or Philadelphia, or something?" He put his hands on his sides, trying to sound like it wasn't a big deal.

"Actually, though very similar to both the Congo and Philadelphia, I, uh," she walked over to set her stuff down near the stool next to Lorelai, "I was in the mideast."

Luke stepped back to lean against the back counter. "Huh," he replied, staring at the floor. "Guess that postcard must have gotten lost.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Yeah, well, things are pretty crazy over there." Rachel sat down. "Not a lot of writing time. But I finished up my assignment and I flew back to Chicago, and I was walking through O'Hare, and I look up, and there's a plane leaving for Hartford in, like, twenty minutes. And all of a sudden, I'm on it."

"Nice story."

"I should've called," she said.

"No, you…" Luke glanced at Rachel, but had to look down. "It's fine," he lied. Anger was starting to well up inside of him that Rachel didn't even seem to bring up the fact they have a kid, and the fact she chose to come here instead of visiting Providence to see her. But the nice guy Luke Danes was, he masked the feeling and let it go for now.

"You look good," Rachel complimented.

"Thanks," he told her. "You, um, you look...you...you, uh, look…"

Lorelai came to his rescue and said, "He thinks you look good, too." She looked at him for confirmation. "Right?"

"Right."

"And you do," she told Rachel.

"Thank you," Rachel replied.

The girls smiled before Lorelai introduced herself.

"Oh, yeah," Luke spoke up, pointing at Lorelai, "she's Lorelai."

Lorelai smiled at him, "I'm Luke's friend."

"Yeah, she, uh, works at the Independence Inn."

"I run it, actually," she corrected him.

"Sorry. She...runs it."

"Wow, I love that place," said Rachel, in surprise. "That must be a pretty big job."

"It is," she said. "It's crazy. There's always something happening. Like, we just put these coffee makers in all the rooms and only half of them work. They just shake and gurgle like their having some kind of a fit." Lorelai quickly switched topics. "Why were you in the mideast?"

"I, uh, I was doing a photo story on how Palestinian and Israeli families have been affected by the violence," she explained.

"Ah, well then, so you understand about the job pressure."

"Yeah."

Lorelai reached for her purse, letting them know she was going to leave.

"Please," Rachel tried to reason. "Don't let me drive you away." Lorelai assured her she wasn't and told her it was nice meeting Rachel, and left, leaving the two of them alone. Well, aside from the other customers. Rachel smiled at Luke. "So," she smiled at him. "Hi."

Luke was still feeling anxious. His heart would not slow down and wished Lorelai hadn't left. "Hi." He saw her eyes avert to Shelby's drawing on the wall she had made for him.

"I never took you as the guy that hangs kids' drawings on your wall, there."

Luke glanced at it, trying to look back at Rachel. His eyes kept dropping towards the floor. He managed to say, "Well, uh, when my kid makes me something I feel, uh, proud to show it off."

"Your…" her expression turned to a confused one. "Your kid? You have a kid?"

Luke took in a deep breath through his nose, mustering up all he could to say, " _We_ have a kid, Rachel."

The air grew thick. Her expression changed to a horrified one. "No… Y-y-you know...you have Shelby?"

He stared at her, now trying to slow his heart rate as best as he could. "Yep."

Rachel dropped her gaze towards the counter. She wasn't saying anything.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he finally asked.

She folded her hands to lean her nose on and closed her eyes.

Luke wasn't sure what to say next. Here she was, the mother of his child, sitting across from him, waiting for an explanation. He tried to be happy to see her. He wanted to be. Luke had a hard time getting passed all the hurt this woman had put him and their daughter through.

"I was hoping you wouldn't find out," she finally said after a moment.

Not something he wanted to hear, Luke stormed away into the back.

Rachel watched him before standing up, to quickly follow after him. "That's not what I meant. Luke, wait."

Gaining some confidence from the hurt and anger, he turned around when they were out of earshot from the customers. "What did you mean then?" he asked, trying to remain civil. "Because it sounds like you didn't want me to know about Shelby."

"I was scared, all right? When I found out I was pregnant, I didn't know what to do," she told him. "I had took off on you...again, and I wasn't sure if going back right away was such a good idea, even with a baby on the way."

"So you gave her up to strangers instead? You thought that'll be better?" Luke demanded. "You should know me better than that, Rachel.''

"I know, and I'm sorry. I just wasn't sure I was ready to be a mother. I figured there was someone else out there who could do a better job than I could."

Luke shook his head at the woman. "What about my rights? We could have figured things out together," he snapped.

Rachel looked away, not saying a word. Finally she said, "I thought about dropping her off with you…"

He folded his arms. Luke looked from Rachel to the floor. "Then you would know where she is. Am I right, Rachel?"

"I… It wasn't easy...giving her up. I was just scared."

"How do you think I felt when I found out I was a father? Feel, actually."

Rachel looked at him. "I thought I was doing the right thing for her."

"Well, it wasn't. Shelby never was able to be adopted." Luke grabbed his vest from where he left it and stormed passed her, throwing it on. Letting Caesar know he was heading out to pick up Shelby, Luke headed out the door.

Rachel continued to follow.

"What happened?" she asked, catching up to him.

"With what?" he asked, looking ahead.

"Why wasn't she adopted?"

He let out a breath of air. "Shelby doesn't warm up to people, easily."

"What do you mean?"

Luke glanced at her. "Well, being bounced from one foster home to another, meeting all kinds of strangers, can traumatize a kid, I guess. The day I met her, Shelby wouldn't even get out of the car. She looked like a scared animal caught in a trap. She wouldn't speak to anyone and hid behind furniture. It took Lorelai's hat idea to get her out of the car."

"Hat idea?"

"I gave her one of my hats to wear and told her it'll make her invisible. Whenever she's wearing it, no one can talk to her, not even look at her until she removes it on her terms," he explained.

"And has she spoken since you got her?"

"Yep. Lorelai and her daughter researched the severity of her shyness."

"And?"

"She's selective mute. She has the ability to speak but she has so much anxiety, she can't. Shelby's not holding a full conversation yet but she's spoken short, complete sentences to me."

"I think that's great," she said.

Luke said nothing.

Rachel stared away as they crossed the street. "Shelby was a beautiful baby when she was born. Does she still have those big, brown eyes?"

"Uh, no," Luke shook his head. "Shelby has my eyes, aside from a few other things. Kid's practically my twin."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed to hear that.

"Something wrong with that?" he asked.

"Oh, no, no, no. I just thought...she would have my eyes since mine started out brown when I was born."

The two eventually walked up towards the school where Luke paused in midstep. He turned to Rachel, to face her.

"Do me a favor."

"Sure," she said.

"Do not under any circumstance tell Shelby who you are," he told her, firmly.

"Excuse me? I am her mother, Luke," she pointed out.

"That is up for discussion."

Rachel looked at him, giving Luke a stern look.

Luke gave one right back. "I mean it, Rachel. Do not tell her."

"I don't feel that's fair," she said.

"You lost that right when you gave her up. You'll have to earn it back."

"Fine," she reluctantly gave in.

Luke gave one last look before telling her to wait there while he went inside to get Shelby. He looked back to add, "If it makes you feel any better, it was almost two weeks before I was able to tell her who I was," and turned back around.

As he grew closer, Luke could spot Shelby's class. But what stopped him in his tracks was the kid wearing Shelby's hat towards the back of the line. Liddy was standing beside her, talking her ear off as Shelby twirled some dirt around on the sidewalk. He couldn't believe it. Luke hadn't seen his daughter outside with her class since her old school. Seriously, how did this kid always manage to turn his day around?

Luke gave a whistle, alerting her attention. He saw her head barely lift as if she was peeking out from under her hat. Luke kneeled down, balancing his arms on his knees when Shelby dashed over to him and scooped her up.

"I am so proud of you," he praised her, squeezing her to him in one arm as he smashed her backpack in as well. Luke kissed her cheek near her ear. Shelby held her arms around him.

Darla came over, smiling. "Shelby came out at story time when Liddy offered to share her grapes with her if she did," she explained.

"She did, huh?" Luke couldn't help smile at his daugher.

"Next thing I knew, Liddy had gotten Shelby over to their table and sharing her crayons."

"Shelby does like to color." He rubbed a hand underneath her backpack, along her back.

"Which is perfect timing because on Monday we're going to be starting rehearsal for our spring production of _Peter Rabbit_ , and I'd like for everyone in the class to participate."

Luke had completely forgotten the elementary school puts on a play every year. Every season, actually. This wasn't good. They were making progress, sure but not that fast.

"Shelby can be a vegetable and stand in the back in she wants," she offered.

"Shelby and I can talk about it this weekend," Luke said. The two exchanged good-byes and parted ways. "How was it? School, I mean?" he asked Shelby as Luke made his way from the school.

She gave a slight shrug. "We colored."

He smiled. "Was that your favorite?"

Shelby nodded at first but said yes a moment later.

Remembering Rachel, Luke stopped. He hesitated before he spoke. "A friend of mine stopped by the diner, today. I don't know how long she'll be in town but she might be staying with us. Is that okay?"

Shelby looked away with just her eyes and gave another shrug. Luke accepted it that time, thinking she probably wasn't sure what to say. He barely knew what to say himself.

So he continued walking. Rachel was still standing in the same spot he left her, waiting and stopped a few feet away.

Luke introduced the two together.

"Hi, Shelby. It's nice to meet you," Rachel greeted the kid. Shelby pulled her hat down and hid her face in her father's shoulder.

Luke kissed her cheek before setting Shelby on her feet. He ended up walking in between the girls, holding onto Shelby's hand. She kept her head down where the hat hid her face from view.

Rachel was watching the ground as they walked as well. "She's still beautiful," she said, glancing up at him.

"I know." Luke watched his daughter for a moment.

When they got back to the diner, he fixed Shelby a snack and let her watch cartoons for an hour. Rachel told him she would stay with Shelby while he worked downstairs. But Shelby kept her distance from the stranger and ended up sneaking down there and tried to pin herself to his leg.

He knelt to her level, wrapping a hand to her side. "What's wrong, Shell?"

Shelby moved closer to his ear to whisper, very softly, "See keeps ta-cing my toys."

"Rachel keeps touching your toys?" he repeated.

"Yes."

Luke rubbed his hand along her side, comfortingly. "You have to tell her you don't like your toys being touched. Rachel can't read your mind."

"I take from her. She still touc'."

"You mean she takes it out of your hand?"

Shelby shook her head. "No. Ano-ter."

"Oh. I'm sorry, kiddo."

"She leave now?"

"That's up to her, kiddo. I'm not gonna make her leave just because she's touching your toys."

Shelby frowned at the floor.

Luke kissed the side of her forehead. "You hungry?"

She nodded, not looking up.

"What would you like?"

"Cheese sandwich."

He stood up, lifting Shelby with him and moved around the counter to set her on one of the stools. Luke made Shelby a special grilled cheese, cutting out a smiley face in the middle of each slice of bread. She couldn't help smile when he set the plate in front of her, and playfully grabbed at her head as Luke headed over to a table to drop off someone else's order.

When he came back, Rachel appeared from upstairs, to which Luke whispered to her, "Don't touch her toys," to warn her.

"Why not?"

"Shelby came to me upset that you were touching the Pokemons."

"Oh, did she now?" Rachel smirked.

But, Luke didn't smile back. "I mean it." With that said, he returned to their daughter, asking if she wanted something to drink. Luke still had mixed feelings about everything but one thing he did know. He did not want Shelby getting hurt again. Even if it was just about a bunch of kids meal toys.

Rachel went over to where Shelby was sitting and sat beside her. "I didn't upset you upstairs, did I, Shelby?" she asked of the little girl.

Luke could hear from the kitchen where he was pouring a glass of milk. There was a short pause before he heard Rachel continue.

"If I did, I'm sorry." It sounded sincere but not as affectionate when he talked to Shelby.

Luke returned shortly, setting the milk down above her plate. Shelby's form looked tensed up as she stared at her food. He leaned on his arms. "Hey, if you ever feel uncomfortable, let me know. Okay?" Since Shelby had forgotten her hat upstairs, Luke pulled his off and placed it on her head. Shelby pulled it over her eyes but did not continue eating. He caught a look from Rachel as Luke made his way over to a couple who just walked in and sat down.

Later that evening, the three headed over to the park for the festival since Rachel wanted to. Shelby had her own hat that time. The town started with the bonfire which took a while to light, trying to find matches to light it with, followed by a fist fight before everyone walked around the park, enjoying themselves. Rachel had brought her camera along, snapping pictures whenever she found a good shot. When Luke had decided to go sit down, she tried to encourage Shelby to walk around some more but the kid refused, wanting to stay with her dad as she hid her face in her hat. So, Rachel went off alone, returning once she ran out of film.

"You getting some good stuff?" he asked, while holding Shelby on his leg.

"Oh yeah," she replied, satisfied. "Yeah, the firelight really changes people. It makes them seem happier, freer, all troubles in the world completely gone."

"I don't think that's the firelight. I think that's the founders' day party punch they've been selling," Luke pointed out.

"Oh yeah. That stuff is good." She switched out films from her jacket pocket.

"Okay, at some point are you gonna tell me what you're doing here?"

"I'm putting more film in my camera."

"Rachel."

She focused on her camera. "What?" Rachel looked up at him, who wasn't letting it go. "I told you, I was at the airport and now I'm here."

"Oh, well, sure, when you put it like that," he shrugged, sarcastically.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't sound all that happy to see me," she said.

"Correct me if _I'm_ wrong, but," Luke placed his hands over Shelby's ears, firmly but gentle before continuing, "not only do you have a tendency to show up and leave, you walked out on our kid and did not tell me. Definitely not one of your charming attributes."

Rachel looked forward. "So you're not happy to see me?"

Luke remained silent, staring at her.

"Luke, I don't know what I'm doing here, okay? I just missed you. I wanted to see you."

"What about Shelby, here?" He glanced down at the their daughter, who was holding onto his wrist, in one hand.

"Honestly, I have thought about Shelby. How she was doing. If she had found a family. And every time I looked into the face of a kid over there… the look on their faces, it always made me wonder if Shelby was safe or not." She looked at Luke. "I'm glad you have her, Luke. I really am."

Luke softened, accepting that response. "I missed you, too," he finally admitted and released his hands from Shelby's ears. When he tried to lower his hand, Shelby pulled it back, holding it to the side of her head as she leaned against him. Both him and Rachel smiled at the scene.

Finally, Rachel continued. "So, since we're both being blunt, what's the deal with Lorelai?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Luke.

"I'm talking about Lorelai, the lady who runs the inn, the one you've told me, absolutely, nothing about, except that she's been helping with Shelby." She snickered, "Be very careful to leave out any story, anecdote, or gossip about the town."

He smiled at the grass. "There is no deal with Lorelai," he said, lifting his head. "We're friends."

"For now."

"Yes."

"And in the future?"

"Well, Lorelai is...you know...she's just, um…" Luke stumbled over his words, unsure what to say. "I mean, at times it seems like…" He looked at her. "I don't know. But I am happy to see you."

Shelby looked up at him.

Rachel smiled at him. "Good," she said and told him she was going to get more punch, asking if he wanted any. Luke declined, stating that the stuff would kill you. "Some things never change." Rachel stood up to leave.

Luke caught Shelby sticking her tongue out as Rachel walked away. "Hey, be nice," he scolded her, gently. Shelby hid her face in her hat again. She looked up when Lorelai appeared next to them, asking about the fire department. "Aren't you supposed to be in Hartford?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"What happened?"

"Climbed out the window."

"Okay," he said.

"That's it? You're not curious why?"

"No."

"That's what I love about you."

Shelby slid down from her father's leg and moved over to squeeze in between the two adults, who scooted over a little so she could sit down. Shelby removed her hat.

"Hey, sweetheart," Lorelai greeted, happily. This was the first time the kid had done something like this around her. Luke couldn't feel any more prouder. He also couldn't help wonder why it was happening on the day her mother had returned and if it had any connection. More joy washed over him at what happened next. Shelby put her arm around Lorelai and shyly gave her a semi hug. Lorelai glanced at Luke with a surprised look. Happy, but surprised, she lightly held an arm around Shelby, to return the hug.

Shelby looked up and smiled for her.

Lorelai lowered her head to ask, "Are you having fun?"

Luke's heart skipped a beat when he saw Shelby lean in to whisper in her ear for a split second. He couldn't hear what she said. The fact her mouth moved was something. She leaned in again to say more.

"No," Lorelai replied. "Oh, how did I miss that? I'm so bummed."

"What?" asked Luke.

"There was a fight?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah. Taylor and Harry got into it together," he explained. "It was good. Didn't think Shelby was okay with that. She hid behind me when it started."

Lorelai shrugged before changing the subject. "So, where's Rachel?"

"She's a founders' party punch junkie," he replied.

"Even the nice girls aren't safe," Lorelai commented.

"She's been running around here, taking all kinds of pictures."

She snickered. "She's having a good time."

"I guess so," he muttered and added, "I hope so."

"So?"

Luke looked at her. "Yes?" he questioned.

"So, what is the haps with you two?"

"The haps?" Luke repeated. "Well, let's see. What is the haps?"

"I mean, like, you know…"

"I know what you meant by 'the haps,'" he told her.

"Okay, well, you were repeating it, like a thousand times," she pointed out, sounding annoyed with him.

"I was pondering."

"Well, you ponder really slowly," Lorelai teased him.

"If I did it fast, it wouldn't be pondering," he argued. "Pondering by nature has a slow connotation."

"Okay, fine. Fine." There was a paused before Lorelai asked, "Is she, um, staying?"

"I don't know."

Lorelai looked at him, quickly. "Do you want her to?"

"I don't know," he said.

"She seems to really like you."

"Yeah, she does but she doesn't have the greatest attention span."

She nodded at the ground, "Yeah."

"But, she is here." Luke stared at the ground as well.

"Yes she is."

He took a deep breath in. "I don't know. You spend a lot of time, debating things, you know. Is it right, is it wrong? Should I do this, should I do that? Sometimes you should just jump in and take a shot. What's the worst that can happen? She left before, I lived. But then I think, things are different now. It's not just me I have to worry about this time." Luke glanced at his daughter, who was swinging her feet.

"Does she…" Lorelai looked at him.

"No, not yet. I want to wait it out first. Let her..., you know."

"I think that's great," she said.

"You do."

"Yeah."

"Thanks," he told her.

"You're welcome." Lorelai smiled at the ground.

"Well, I guess I'm gonna go check up on Rachel," he declared, looking around for her.

"That's nice," she muttered, softly.

"What?"

"That you have somebody to go check up on. That's nice."

"Yeah, it is. Unless she's completely drunk and throwing up," Luke pointed out.

Lorelai shrugged, "Still nice," and gave a small laugh.

Luke smiled before he said, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

She smiled. "Tomorrow."

He reached around Shelby to playfully punch Lorelai's leg before standing to his feet. When Luke stood up and held out his hand for Shelby to take, he saw she hadn't moved from the bench.

"Come on, Shell. We're gonna go find Rachel and go home."

Shelby still did not stand. She remained, staring at the grass. Her feet had stopped swinging before he had stood up.

It was Lorelai who spotted something was wrong, first. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" She leaned over, tilting her head, sideways to look at the kid, directly. Lorelai wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

When Shelby still hadn't answered, Luke squatted down in front of her, placing his hands on the edge of the bench for balance.

"Hey, kiddo. What's the matter?" he asked her, softly. Luke could see his daughter shutting down again. Her body was tense and she gripped her hat, tight.

"You can tell us anything, sweetie. Your dad and I won't get mad. Not at you," Lorelai assured her. She was rubbing Shelby's upper arm, up and down, comfortingly.

Tears were starting to fill her eyes.

"Want to tell me at home?" Luke asked, after a few minutes.

Still nothing. Not even a head movement.

Luke stood up and tried to lift Shelby with him when she shoved him away, aggressively. He was taken aback by the outburst. Shelby had never done that to him.

Lorelai had flinched out of the way as well, pulling away.

Shelby glanced up, realizing what she had done and stared at the grass again. More tears appeared, this time falling down her face.

"Come on, Shell," Luke tried one more time, still getting over the shock. This time, Shelby willingly stood up on her own, but placed her hat back on her head. He shared one last look with Lorelai as they walked away.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Luke gave Shelby her bath when they got home. Shelby wouldn't remove her clothes unless the bathroom door was closed since there was a stranger there. While she rubbed the soapy washcloth all over her body, Luke lathered the shampoo in her hair.

Still worried from earlier, he tried again to see if Shelby would talk about what had happened.

Shelby dropped her gaze towards the water, not saying a word.

Luke waited a few minutes. "I can't help fix what's bothering you if you don't talk to me, kiddo," he finished lathering and dipped his hands in the water, off to the side, to rinse off the shampoo. "I won't make you if you don't want to and you won't be in trouble whether you decide to or not. I'm just worried about you."

She chewed on her lip as Shelby held onto the washcloth, tight.

Slowly and carefully, Luke took the washcloth, pulling it from her hands and used it to get her back.

It got quiet as he washed her back. Finally, Luke admitted, "you know, I heard you singing, last weekend." He saw her eyes lift at that but couldn't hold eye contact. "I think it sounded beautiful."

Shelby did not look up, remaining quiet.

"I like hearing you sing."

That time, her head finally lifted again.

Luke smiled, tilting his head a little. When he finished with her back, Luke picked up a cup from the tub's edge. "Ready?"

She nodded and closed her eyes so her dad could pour water over her head, doing it twice to make sure all of the shampoo and soap were rinsed off. When her bath was over, Luke let the water out of the tub and stood up to grab her red bath towel from its rack, wrapping the little girl in it. He lifted her out and set her on the rug. Kneeled at her level, Luke dried Shelby off, getting each part of her body, including her hair and let Shelby put her own pajamas on. He brushed her hair out, though, or tried to at least, having the brush get caught at a few tangles. That he could do. Actually doing something with her hair, aside from a ponytail, the guy was clueless. Not that Shelby ever asked for anything done to her hair. It wasn't even long enough to do anything to it, anyway.

"Hey," he touched his forehead to hers. "Wanna fly?"

Shelby glanced up at him. His heart sunk when her gaze dropped, rejecting their airplane game the two had come up with.

Luke pulled back to reach up a little and rubbed her upper arm, comfortingly as Shelby stared towards the floor. He wasn't sure what to do or say. She hadn't spoken since she talked to Lorelai. Just when Luke thought they were taking another step forward, they take two steps back.

Then it dawned on him. "It's not Rachel, is it?" he asked her, gently.

But Shelby still continued to stare at the floor.

Luke ran the hand he had been holding against her arm, along her hair, pushing it behind her ear. "Remember what I said about being uncomfortable?" He waited for a response. Luke didn't even get a head motion. He watched her for a minute, wishing he could read her mind or see her thoughts. No sane parent wanted to see their child hurting. With each passing second, his heart crumbled.

Finally, a knock at the door made both of them jump.

Luke suddenly looked up behind him and called out, "Come in," as Shelby jumped on him, clinging to him.

The door opened with Rachel sticking her head in.

"Everything alright in here? It's been awfully quiet in here."

Luke looked back at Rachel. "Yeah," he nodded, holding his arms around his daughter. "Yeah. We were just… I was brushing her hair."

Rachel smiled at him, impressed. "You brush hair, now?"

"Well, yeah. Kind of have to."

She noticed Shelby, huddled in his arms. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle Shelby. I'll…," Rachel made to step out when Luke stopped her. He stood up, lifting Shelby with him and told her she could use the bathroom next. Rachel thanked him. She went over to grab her stuff out of her bag.

Luke hung the towel on the rack, using only one hand. It wasn't easy but he managed, and left the bathroom.

With the three of them switched and Luke out in the large space, he went over to turn on some cartoons, hoping that would cheer Shelby up. _Dexter's Laboratory_ was playing at the moment, in the middle of the second part of the episode.

"You want Pikachu?" Luke felt her head move in a yes motion. So he set her down and went over to his bed, grabbing Pikachu, to bring him over to Shelby. Luke sat down to watch the cartoon with her. The cartoon boy, Dexter was dealing with his older sister, who was bothering him as always. It baffled Luke how their parents never knew the kid had a laboratory in his bedroom.

Shelby held her toy in her arms as she leaned against him, watching the cartoon. Normally she'd be silently giggling at it. Not this time.

Another episode came on, following the first.

Rachel came out during the commercial break, showing a commercial for some toy car set. "That felt nice," she declared, drying her hair, now in pajamas pants and an orange tank top.

Luke nodded over at her, smiling for her.

She stood beside the couch. "What'cha watching?"

He glanced at her, turning back to the TV. "Cartoons."

"Isn't it past her bedtime?"

"We sometimes wind down with a little TV or something before bed," Luke shrugged it off. He leaned over to hold his face in front of Shelby's. "I'm gonna go shower and get ready for bed, too." Once he said that, Luke felt her grip onto his shirt, tightly. "I won't be very long. Just ten minutes, maybe fifteen. Okay?" He made to stand but Shelby did not let go.

Luke sat back again, now seeing her body tensed. "Sweetheart…."

"Did I do something wrong again?" Rachel looked between the two.

"No," he assured her, but wasn't completely sure himself. "Shelby doesn't like me being away."

"Should she really be that dependent on you?"

"We're working on it," Luke suddenly snapped up at her, quickly regretting it. "I'm sorry. Just let me handle this." He turned back to Shelby. "I'll just be a few feet away, in the bathroom. You know I don't take long showers." Shelby still did not release her grip. In fact, tears were starting to fill her eyes. After ten minutes of reassuring her, Luke just decided to wait until she was asleep and pulled Shelby onto his lap.

Rachel sat on the other side of the couch. "Is there anything I can do?"

"In regards to, what?"

"It doesn't seem Shelby is warming up to me," she said.

"It just takes time."

"What can I do in the meantime?"

Luke looked over at her. He looked down at Shelby, who had buried her face into his chest.

"I'd like to get to know Shelby. I just don't know how," she shrugged.

He sat there for a moment before nodding over where he had left the pages Lorelai had given him on selective mutism. "That's the article that helped...helps me understand how Shelby feels and how to respond and eventually help her to speak."

Rachel leaned forward to grab the papers and started to skim through them.

"The things I circled are what I've noticed in Shelby."

Rachel continued skimming through all of the pages.

"The hardest part is remembering not to 'rescue' her," he admitted. "Ask a question and wait until she answers on her own. I don't let her get away with head motions... Most of the time. Just be patient and accept it if Shelby whispers. Don't hug her unless she hugs you first. It helps if you don't ask yes or no questions so Shelby won't be prone to nod or shake her head, or shrug her shoulders."

"It says," she had stopped on the fourth page and read, "to introduce new people, let them listen while someone she feels comfortable with, holds a conversation with her."

Luke shrugged. "It also says each kid is different. Once Shelby warms up to someone, she'll start speaking to the person. Just ask for her permission if you can sit near her or touch something," he glanced over at the toys on the coffee table.

Rachel nodded, taking the hint. "I really am sorry about that. I was just looking at them. They seem really different than the cartoons we grew up with."

Luke watched their daughter, cradling Shelby in his arms. "Shelby was put into a mentoring program that Madison's office partnered with. In fact, the mentor was the first person that got Shelby to open up, and introduced the video game to her, teaching Shelby all about it which led to her discovering the cartoon and the toys. The kid's crazy about those characters." He couldn't help smile at Shelby.

"That one of them, too?" she motioned her head towards Pikachu still in her arms.

"Yep." Luke felt Shelby's bare foot that was curled in underneath her. "You mind grabbing a pair of socks for her from the top drawer?"

"Not at all." Rachel stood up and went over to the dresser, opening the top drawer and grabbing a pair of Shelby's socks. She brought them back, handing them to Luke, who thanked her, and returned to her seat.

Luke unfolded the socks and slipped them onto Shelby's feet.

"I always thought most kids were annoying. Shelby doesn't seem to be," she admitted, a little bit later while Luke was slipping them on.

"Not at all," he shook his head. "She likes helping me, a lot."

Rachel smiled. "That's nice."

"Yeah." Luke glanced at her and wrapped his arms around Shelby again. "She's my little assistant." The room grew quiet as both of them watched Shelby. He started rubbing her back in soothing motions, using his fingers. Sometimes, Shelby would fall asleep if Luke did it long enough. Her eyes were starting to droop just a bit. Of course, like any kid, Shelby fought it for all it was worth.

Rachel looked over at the TV. _Dexter's Laboratory_ was over and another cartoon was on. This time it was the cartoon, _Courage, the Cowardly Dog_. It was another of Shelby's favorites. Not as much as _Pokemon_ but enough she would want to stay up and watch it. So Luke pressed the power button on the remote he had left on the arm of the couch, turning the TV off.

While Luke gently rubbed soothing motions along Shelby's back, him and Rachel talked, catching each other up on what's been going on since they last seen each other. They didn't really talk about anything special, just tidbits here and there. Eventually, Shelby ended up losing the battle and Luke felt and heard her steady breathing.

After a while, he told Rachel, "she has your smile."

That caught Rachel off guard. "What?"

Luke stared at the floor. "Shelby has your smile," he repeated, softly, above a whisper.

"I thought you said she looks completely like you?"

"She does. Not everything came from me, though. I don't have dimples and when she smiles I noticed Shelby does it the way you smile."

Rachel looked at the floor, leaning forward on her knees. "Wow," she said, surprised. "I don't… I don't know what to say." She smiled, looking over at him, proving his point.

He smiled at her, in return.

Luke laid Shelby in her bed, covering her up and leaned over to kiss Shelby, good night. Finally, he was able to shower and change before Luke made up a bed on the couch for Rachel to sleep on. She tried to ask what was wrong sharing his bed like they used to but he told her it would be wiser to keep Rachel on the couch, for Shelby's sake. Rachel did manage to convince him to get a few extra hours of sleep in the morning, after what seemed like ages. Luke tried to refuse, stating he had a business to run. She assured him she would open for him.

"What about Shelby? She's probably used to getting up at my wake-up time, by now," he pointed out. "I should probably be up when she is."

"I'm going to stay up a little bit longer and read through this article," Rachel grabbed the pages from the coffee table where she had set it. "It'll be my first practice with her."

"Well," he hesitated. "Shelby can make her own cereal and get dressed on her own. Since it's Saturday, she'll probably be plopped in front of the TV, waiting for _Pokemon_." Luke reached up and turned off his bedside lamp, realizing Shelby's nightlight wasn't turned on. He tossed back the covers and got up to switch it on, returning right afterwards.

A few hours later, the two of them were awakened by whimpering sounds.

"Is that Shelby?" Rachel asked, half asleep.

Luke pushed himself up and reached over to turn on the light, "Yeah." He sat up, placing his feet on the floor and made his way over to Shelby's bed. There was a chance of both her and the bed being wet. "Hey," Luke leaned over her and rubbed her back. "Kiddo, you okay?"

Shelby bolted out of her sleep at her father's familiar touch. Her head shot up before noticing he was standing over her.

"You were having a bad dream, kiddo," he assured her, sitting on the edge of her bed. Shelby clung to him, holding on, tight. Luke held her, comfortingly. "Hey, hey. It's alright now. I got you." Shelby cried, silently into his shirt. Most of her pajama pants were indeed wet. Once he got her calm again, Luke led her into the bathroom to wash off in the shower.

While Shelby was in the shower, Luke grabbed a dry pair of pajamas and underwear from the bottom drawer of the dresser. Without being asked to, Rachel had gotten up to strip the bed, throwing everything, including the comforter and wet clothes into the washer for him. She was spreading out a spare comforter over the bed when they left the bathroom.

Luke laid Shelby back down. She wouldn't allow him to leave so he had to lay down with her. She snuggled up to him as Luke wrapped an arm around her. The intention was to just lay there until Shelby fell asleep but Luke didn't realize how tired he was and ended up falling asleep, trying to get her to fall asleep. He woke up briefly at a quarter to five when his alarm went off. Rachel turned it off and reminded him to go back to sleep. Shelby had stirred a little, rubbing her fists over her eyes, turning onto her back. Luke rubbed her stomach in circles. Shelby just stopped and fallen right back to sleep. The third time was because of Shelby being fully awake.

"Good morning, kiddo," he greeted up at the kid.

Shelby was rubbing the sleep from her eyes again, but sitting up this time. She stopped to look around the room before turning towards her dad. "Good morning, Dad," she returned in her soft tone.

"You sleep okay?"

"Yes."

"That's good," he smiled.

"Is it Sa'urday?" she asked.

"Mm hm."

"I hope I no miss _Pokemon_."

Luke couldn't help chuckle to himself. That cartoon was to Shelby like coffee was to Lorelai.

"What?" she looked at him, confused.

"Nothing, kiddo," he assured her.

"Oh." Shelby decided to climb off her bed and dash over to where Luke had left the TV remote, the night before and used it to turn the TV on. She switched through the channels until she found the _Kids' WB_ channel with _Batman_ currently playing. Shelby dashed over to where Luke had gotten up, tugging on his pants.

He squatted to her level, "Yes, Shell?"

"I no miss it," she smiled in relief into his ear.

Luke couldn't help chuckle again, standing up as he playfully grabbed her head. He got Shelby dressed first, in a pair of jeans and an orange T-shirt with a tan collar and around the bottom of the sleeves.

Shelby wanted to wear her hat too, but backwards like him. "I jus' like you, Dad," she told him.

"You are, huh?" Luke grabbed Shelby around the waist, holding her from behind and repeatedly kissed her cheek while she giggled to herself. Shelby tried to pull away. Eventually, he released her. When she was free, Shelby turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck and reached up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek, looking embarrassed afterwards. Luke just smiled at her, holding his arms around her. "Love you, kiddo."

"Love you too, Dad."

Luke watched her for a moment, smiling. "I don't know what I did to deserve such an awesome kid, but I'm so proud I do."

Shelby smiled at that. "I glad I have you too."

"I'm happy to hear that, Shell."

The subject was quickly changed out of the blue. "Can I have Trix?"

"Yes you may." Luke rubbed her sides up and down, a few times before finally letting go. Shelby hurried over to the kitchen area and got the box of Trix from the cupboard. He followed behind to get a bowl down for her, supervising the pouring. She did pretty good, not spilling while sitting at the table, on her legs. Since it was a half gallon, Shelby also poured the milk as well. Luke returned the jug to the fridge while she climbed down from the chair to get a spoon from the drawer.

While Shelby ate her cereal, Luke got dressed in the bathroom. Since it was still during the morning rush, he let Shelby stay upstairs and watch her Saturday morning cartoons, kissing her head before heading downstairs.

Lorelai was the first one to greet him once Luke got downstairs. "Well, uh, good morning, sleeping beauty."

"Yeah, well," Luke shrugged, "Rachel thought I looked a little tired. Shelby had a nightmare and had an accident, last night."

"No, it's good. You need a little break," she assured him.

"I guess."

"You do. You run a diner on top of being a full time, single dad," Lorelai pointed out and asked how Shelby was doing since what happened last night at the festival.

"She seems to be okay. Still hadn't told me, but, uh," Luke lowered his voice before continuing, "I think it's just because there's someone new she doesn't know, staying with us. She gets very tensed and won't even talk to me whenever Rachel's around."

"Well, give her a hug for me."

"I will," he nodded.

"So," Lorelai changed the subject, "Rachel seems pretty comfortable though, huh?"

"Well, she always could just fit in places, you know. It's a talent of hers." Luke said, which Lorelai made a comment about Rachel looking good in his apron. He quickly changed the subject, asking if he could get her anything.

"Oh, um… Do you think you can make those really crazy chocolate chip pancakes and go extra heavy on the chocolate?"

"Yeah, sure," he replied. "Any special occasion?"

Lorelai dropped her shoulders as she let out a sigh. "Dean broke up with Rory"

Luke stared at her and quietly exclaimed, "What?"

"Keep it down. She doesn't want anybody to know about it."

He dropped his head in disgust. "I knew it. I knew that kid was trouble."

"Yes, you did," she said. "You knew it. Pancakes, please."

"God, he's got a nerve," Luke continued, staring at nothing. "What does he think, he's gonna do better than Rory? Is he crazy?" He raised his tone from a whisper to a normal speaking tone. "Alright. Well, forget it. Good riddance, adiós, bienvenidos, hasta la vista."

"Could we get off the Small World ride and get cooking, please?" Lorelai asked, urgently.

Luke whispered, "How is she?"

"She's been dumped," she replied, "by her first boyfriend."

"Oh, man, I swear… I would love to…" he said, bitterly. "Okay, I'm gonna put some whipped cream on the pancakes, too."

Lorelai smiled and thanked him.

"Yeah," he started to head for the kitchen.

"Not a word, okay?"

"I got it," Luke assured her and walked away with a smirk. He joined them a little later with the coffee pot, pouring them more and told Rory, pancakes were coming, shortly. "Anything else I can get ya?"

"No, thanks," Rory replied, shaking her head, politely.

"Hey, I've got some strawberries back there," he added. "You like strawberries, don't you?"

"Yeah, I like them," she nodded, "but…"

Luke didn't let her finish. "I'm getting you, strawberries," he smiled as he walked away. When he did, Luke caught sight of Dean heading towards the diner and immediately stormed outside to stop him, not letting the boy inside. They eventually ended up in a fight in which Lorelai had to come out and put a stop to it.

Lorelai pulled Luke back inside, lecturing him. He tried to go back out there when Dean walked by the entrance but was directed back in the diner.

Back in the diner, Luke resumed his duties, taking in breaths.

Rachel came over to ask, "You're not gonna do something like that after Shelby's first break up, are you?"

"Damn right I am," he replied. "No one's breaking my kid's heart and getting away with it."

"Okay," she patted him on the shoulder before tending to the customers. Luke would probably end up scaring away every boy who came into contact with his daughter, once Shelby got to the dating age.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sunday afternoon between the lunch and dinner rushes, Shelby had her first playdate with Liddy. Shelby didn't know what to do and kept looking over at her dad. Luke suggested showing Liddy her toys. She led the other girl over to the coffee table but just like with Rachel, didn't like Liddy touching her toys.

"Why can't I play with your toys?" she asked Shelby.

Shelby replaced the toy she had just taken from Liddy, back in its place.

Finally, Luke called Liddy over, kneeling to her level. "Try asking first," he suggested in a whisper.

"Okay," she nodded and went back over to the coffee table. "Can I please play with your toys?"

Shelby stared down at the brown dinosaur-like creature wearing a skull on its head like a mask, and holding a bone that was molded against its tan stomach. It was actually a keychain like a few others she had but Shelby played with them all the same. She hesitated at first before stealing a look over at her dad, who gave her an encouraging smile and nodded. So, Shelby turned back to Liddy, shyly, and nodded, giving permission.

"Can I play with the butterfly?"

Shelby hesitated before reaching over to pick up the beanbag plushie of a blue-colored butterfly with big, red eyes and gave it to Liddy to play with.

Liddy flew it through the air above their heads.

Shelby rammed the dinosaur into the butterfly, knocking it out of her hand.

"That's not nice." Liddy picked up the butterfly and held it out to the dinosaur. In a different, gentle voice as if it was talking, she said, "That hurt. You should say you're sorry." Shelby answered by doing it again. "Now, stop that!" Liddy continued the voice. "You should play nice, Mister Dinosaur."

Shelby did it a third time.

Finally, Liddy got upset that time. "Shelby, stop it!" she cried in her normal speaking voice.

Luke came over. "Hey, what seems to be the problem?" He held his hands on his sides.

"Shelby keeps knocking the toy into mine," Liddy tattled.

He looked over to see Shelby holding her gaze to the floor, tensed up, and turned back to the other little girl. "Liddy, that's how Shelby normally plays. They battle one another."

"Why can't they just play nice?"

Luke turned back to Shelby. "Shell, can the Pokemons take a break from battling and just play with one another?"

She didn't respond or even lift her head.

"My brother watches this show. I've seen them play before," Liddy pointed out.

"Everyone needs a break to have fun, kiddo," Luke assured Shelby. After a moment, Shelby finally nodded. "Thank you, Shell." He waited, watching as she walked the toy over to the one Liddy had and held it to the butterfly as if it was hugging it. Luke smiled before returning to where he was working at the table.

The girls played for a hour. The talking was mainly one-sided. Luke couldn't help smile when Liddy slipped some encouragement into the play. Having a yellow, black striped, two-legged cat-like creature, also a keychain, tell an orange two-legged lizard with a flame on the end of its tail, that was a light-up toy, that it was okay to talk and they didn't have to be afraid.

"No one will make fun of you and if they do, they are dodo heads," she said, in a squeaky voice.

Shelby turned hers around so its back was facing Liddy's.

"What's wrong?"

She pointed it, slightly towards the table.

"It's okay. You don't have to be sad. We'll be friends even if you don't talk."

The lizard stole a peek at the cat-like creature before turning back to fully face it.

Luke had been watching for the past few minutes.

At that moment, Rachel came upstairs. "Liddy, your mom's here," she told the little girl.

"Awww," she moaned.

Luke stood up and wandered over to Rachel. "You can come back and play," he reminded her, grabbing Liddy's jacket from its hook. Liddy went over to slip her arms through as Luke suggested Shelby walk her guest downstairs.

Shelby stood up and joined the others. The four of them headed downstairs where Liddy's mother was waiting.

"Did you have fun?" she asked of her daughter.

"Yeah!" Liddy exploded with excitement. "Can Shelby come over to our house next time?"

Her mother glanced over at Luke, looking between them. "Well, that's up to Shelby's dad."

Luke shrugged, "Fine by me if Shelby wants to." He looked down at Shelby who didn't respond at all.

Shelby ended up, ambushed in a hug by Liddy before she left, when her mom told her to say thank you.

"Thank you for letting me play with your toys, Shelby." Shelby let her but did not hug back. Liddy switched over to Luke, hugging him around the legs. "Thank you for letting me come over and play with Shelby, Mister Luke."

"Any time, Liddy." He hugged the kid in return. They said their good-byes before leaving.

Once Liddy and her mom were gone, Luke lifted Shelby up onto his side. "Did you have fun, too?"

Shelby nodded which Luke gave her a reminder. "Yes," she said in a whisper.

"Would you like to do that again but at Liddy's house? I would drop you off for an afternoon like Liddy's mom did today and pick you up, afterwards."

Shelby looked away with just her eyes and shrugged.

The following Sunday afternoon Shelby did accept to give it a try. Luke didn't drop her off though. He stayed and talked with Liddy's parents.

Ten minutes had gone by before Liddy came down the stairs, stating Shelby wasn't playing with her. Luke headed up there to see what the problem was. He ended up finding Shelby leaning in the doorway, watching Liddy's brother play a _Pokemon_ game on his TV, in his room.

Luke peeled Shelby away from the door frame and closed the door. "You're here for Liddy, not her brother, remember?" he reminded her.

Shelby nodded up at him since Liddy and her parents had followed Luke up there. Liddy led her down the hall to her bedroom so the adults could return downstairs. However, doing this made everyone realize how both girls had two completely different personalities. Shelby didn't want to do Barbie's hair, or play dress-up, or have a tea party. When Monday came, the two had ended up just sharing crayons together and that was about it. At least Liddy got Shelby out of the cupboard and sitting in her assigned seat.

Shortly after the friendship ended, though, it wasn't long before Shelby found someone else. Two boys who sat across from the girls at their table were discussing a topic that had caught Shelby's attention. They were twins who were named, Ethan and Alan, who were discussing where to find a certain Pokemon in the Gameboy game. Shelby knew where to find it but they didn't. She wanted to say something but couldn't. She finally decided to write the name of the location on the back of her worksheet and showed it to the boys. It was misspelled but they recognized it anyway. The next day, the boys had come to class, thanking Shelby and asked if she played the games, too.

That afternoon when Luke came to pick Shelby up from school, his legs got tackled. She then told him she had made some new friends. He couldn't believe it. Luke hadn't seen Shelby this excited yet and couldn't be any more happier. In fact, the twins and their parents had ended up stopping by the diner for dinner one night, and Shelby had her first link cable battle on her game.

Aside from Shelby making friends, Rachel also tried to get to know her daughter as well. She had read through the whole article and to Luke's surprise, was sticking to it just as he had. She even asked Shelby's permission to take her picture, beforehand. One would think that would be a good thing but it only made Luke worry more. He didn't even let Rachel be alone with Shelby and almost every time he saw Shelby start to make progress with her, he would call Shelby over, asking for her help or just to chat.

Even though Luke was glad Rachel was there and trying with Shelby, he couldn't help pull back. He hoped Shelby was enough to make her want to stay this time but there was also a part of him that reminded him, this was Rachel and she probably will leave. It was bad enough when it was just him. This time, if Shelby grew to know the woman and got attached, and Rachel were to leave...Luke didn't want to think of the outcome.

Rachel tried to offer to pick Shelby up from school a few times. Luke assured her it was all right, that he could do it. She tried to watch TV with her. Whenever Luke noticed, he would ask Rachel to help him downstairs.

"There was barely anyone down there, Luke. Caesar's down there with you," she told him.

"I know, but it might get packed any minute," Luke pointed out.

"Well, call me if it does. The dinner rush usually doesn't start until five."

Halfway into the third week, Shelby was playing with her toys at the coffee table while Luke was going over some business stuff at the kitchen table.

Rachel joined Shelby, asking first, which she nodded before going back to her play. She leaned her arms on her knees. "Which one's your favorite?"

Shelby picked up the lizard with the flame on the end of its tail, to show her.

"That one looks cool. What's his name?"

Shelby stared at it, silent.

Rachel waited patiently, not saying anything either.

A minute went by before Luke finally spoke up. "Shell, could you come here for a minute?"

Shelby set her toy down and made her way around the couch, walking over to where he sat.

Rachel sat there, saying nothing at first before she turned around to face Luke waiting to see what he wanted from their daughter, this time.

When Shelby was next to him, Luke lowered his head. "How you doing, kiddo?" he asked her, softly where only she could hear.

She shrugged.

"Is Rachel bothering you?"

Shelby looked back at Rachel, turning back around to shake her head.

"Are you sure? I can tell her to leave you alone if she's making you uncomfortable."

Rachel finally spoke up. "I thought you said we can't 'rescue' her, Luke?"

He looked over at her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do. Very well, actually," she argued.

"I was just checking on her, making sure she was okay."

"While I was talking with her, Luke." Rachel held a hand on the back of the couch.

Luke was trying to remain civil, mainly for his daughter, who was standing there, listening. But even though Rachel seemed to be trying to make things better, he couldn't help hold onto the anger he felt that this whole thing could have been avoided in the first place.

The first couple of weeks of Rachel's stay, Shelby's anxiety had remained in tact just as it had the first day. Whenever Rachel was around, she refused to leave Luke's side. But as the days continued, Shelby slowly grew used to having another person around the apartment, especially when Rachel had learned to be more nicer. Luke could see Rachel appear frustrated at times whenever Shelby didn't answer or shut her out. Rachel never lost it on the kid though which Luke was glad of. He was ready to react if she had though.

When Shelby made friends with Ethan and Alan, Rachel was also happy for the little girl, glad she was making friends. In fact, Luke caught her watching Shelby sitting with the boys.

"You know, she looks like you, but she's a little like me. Or, like when I was her age," she told him, behind the counter.

"How do you figure?" he asked.

"I've noticed Shelby's a tomboy. I went through a similar phase around her age," Rachel explained.

"Really." Luke looked between Rachel and Shelby.

"She plays in the dirt, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, why?"

Rachel smiled and looked over at Shelby, who was nodding her head at Ethan.

It was also Rachel who noticed Pikachu actually took batteries, who was sitting on the coffee table. Looking away from Luke, frustrated, Rachel stared at nothing when the toy had caught her eye and noticed his back could open.

"Shelby, does Pikachu take batteries?" she asked.

It was Luke who answered. "What are you talking about? It's just a stuffed animal."

Rachel looked back at him, still annoyed about what he had done and completely ignored him to look over at Shelby. "Does he?"

To Luke's surprise, Shelby nodded.

She reached over and picked up the yellow mouse, opening the back of the toy. Indeed, there was a compartment for batteries, with a speaker. Going through her bag, Rachel pulled out a couple of batteries and a small screwdriver, opening it.

Shelby came over with curiosity of what the woman was doing with her 'friend.' She watched as Rachel removed the old batteries that had come with the toy and replace them with new ones, closing the compartment afterwards and stuffed it back inside Pikachu.

Rachel looked the toy over, trying to figure out how to activate it, giving its stomach, a squeeze in a few places before trying Pikachu's front paws. At a press of his paw, Pikachu came to life, wiggling his long ears and moving his mouth, in and out as it said, _Pika Pika!_ His red cheeks lit up as well.

Luke raised his eyebrows at hearing his daughter's favorite toy 'alive.' All this time he had no clue the toy could talk.

Shelby took the toy as it spoke on its own. _Pi ka chu!_ It said in its actual voice from the show. It made a smile appear on her face and hugged the toy to her as it spoke a third time, its ears moving. Shelby looked up at Rachel, chewing on her lip and muttered, "tank you," barely audible.

Rachel smiled at her. "You're welcome, Shelby."

But so far those were the only two words Rachel heard from the kid.

That Saturday, Lorelai and Rory of course stopped by for breakfast. Lorelai and Luke had a semi argument about the eggs being on top of the pancakes before Luke took the plate into the kitchen and moved the eggs to the side. When he returned, Rachel was there, showing a photo of him, Lorelai and Shelby at the festival. Rachel had commented on Lorelai's eyes and asked Luke what he thought. He gave her a very awkward answer about her eyes being symmetrical. When he found out Lorelai was going to hang out with Rachel, later, Luke was a bit surprised considering they were different in personalities. When Shelby and Liddy learned they were different, that was the end of the friendship. Then again, didn't a kid have a different friend every week in kindergarten?

Shelby snuck downstairs just before Lorelai was about to leave, to head for the inn. Slipping passed everyone, cautiously, she made a dash over to Lorelai's table and removed her hat.

"Well, good morning, Shelby," Lorelai greeted, cheerfully. "Can I have a hug?"

Shelby hugged the woman with one arm, letting Lorelai hug her as well.

She continued to hold one arm around the kid. "What you got going on, today? Any fun plans?"

Shelby whispered into Lorelai's ear for only her to hear.

"That sounds fun," she smiled. "What are you and your friends gonna do?" Shelby whispered to her again. "Of course," Lorelai teased and gave Shelby a squeeze before letting her go.

That afternoon, while Rachel was out with Lorelai, the kids played up in the apartment, playing with the boys' _Pokemon_ figurines, battling one another against Shelby's toys. Luke came up, periodically, to check on them and couldn't help notice how much fun Shelby was especially having even if no words came out of her mouth.

Rachel returned while the boys were still there so she took the opportunity while Shelby was distracted, to talk to Luke, downstairs.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking, Luke, and I know I've said it plenty of times before," she began.

Luke was only half paying attention to her as he wiped down the counter. Rachel was trying the _I'm ready to settle down_ speech on him again.

"Look, what I did, giving up Shelby when she was born, that was a mistake. I see that now. She's a great kid and I wish I could take it back but I can't. What I can do is be there for her now."

Luke stopped, mid-wipe, and looked over at her before continuing to wipe down the counter.

"What I'm saying is, getting to spend some time with Shelby these past couple of weeks made me realize I do want to settle down and put down roots. In fact, need to actually."

Luke moved on to wiping down tables. "You've told me that before, Rachel."

She followed closely behind him. "Yes, and I have given you no reason to believe me now, but...that was before…"

He plainly said, "no," and moved onto another table.

"Luke, how can I fully get to know Shelby if you won't let me get close to her. I can't hold a conversation with her without you pulling her away. I want to apologize but I can't without telling Shelby who I am. Can I please tell her?"

"I said no, Rachel," he snapped. "I'm not gonna let you fill my daughter's head with empty promises and break her little heart when I know you're just going to leave again."

"I swear I mean it, this time."

"That's what you always say. Then you leave without even a good-bye. I can accept that, but Shelby is five years old. She won't, not after the crap she went through in foster care," he had stopped and was facing Rachel. Luke was glad the diner was empty of customers.

"I understand, Luke. Believe me. I don't like that Shelby had a rough start either and I know it's because of me. That's why I want to make things better. I am ready to be a mom."

He stared at her in utter displeasure. "You're ready?" he questioned.

"Yes," she nodded at him.

"You're ready?"

"I told you, yes."

" _You're_ ready?"

Rachel shrugged in confusion. "Yes, Luke, I am. How many times do I need to say it?"

His heart began thumping inside his chest so hard Luke could hear it in his ears. "Was I ready when I got the phone call? Was I ready when the judge granted me full custody? Was I ready when I brought her home?" he didn't let her answer. "No, Rachel, I wasn't. I wasn't ready. But I did it anyways. Because that is my kid," Luke pointed upstairs. "That's called parenthood. Its stepping up the first moment you learn you're a parent, not having any second thoughts. Shelby should never have been in foster care when there are kids out there in more need of her spot. And, you know what else?"

Rachel shook her head. "I'm sorry, Luke. I don't…"

"I might even have accepted it if you had dropped her off here instead. _Might._ But instead you gave her to strangers. _Strangers_ , Rachel! And did not even tell me, _her father_."

Rachel took in a deep breath, letting it out. "What do you want me to say, Luke?" she asked of him. "I messed up. I can't change the past, but I can help fix it now. I really mean it this time. I want to be a part of Shelby's life. I do. I won't abandon her again. I promise."

Luke aggressively rubbed at a dried-on food spot, squirting at it with a cleaning solution.

"I'm not even gonna make excuses, Luke. Let me show you I'm willing to stay this time."

Luke moved onto to the next table, not budging at all. He hardened his heart to not give in to her. Every time, she gave him the same speech and each time she took off. Luke wanted to believe Rachel, he really did. But he knew better and Luke wanted to protect Shelby as much as he possibly could.

Thankfully, the argument was cut short when the twins' dad came by the diner to pick up his boys. Luke led him upstairs.

"Boys, your dad's here," he announced when they walked in. There was a moan from the boys and a frowny face from Shelby. The kids were on the couch with Shelby in the middle, playing her game. Her body was molded in a ball with her knees pointed towards the ceiling. It was clear she was uncomfortable but either Shelby couldn't say anything or she really didn't care. Either way she did not want the boys to leave.

Like with Liddy, Shelby had to walk her guests out, saying bye at the entrance to the diner. After they left, Shelby turned around without looking up first and hugged Rachel's leg. She quickly looked up and jolted backwards, tearing up, fast as she froze.

Luke noticed and went over to lift her on his side. "What's wrong, kiddo?" he rubbed her back, up and down as Shelby buried her face in his shoulder. Her face was bright red. When it seemed like Shelby wasn't going to respond, Luke took her upstairs for some privacy.

He sat on the end of his bed and placed Shelby on his leg. She refused to look up though. Every time Luke tried to lift her off his chest, Shelby would rebury it.

"What happened, Shell? Talk to me. We're alone here. I told Rachel to stay downstairs so she can't hear you." Luke continued to rub her back as Shelby held his shirt in a firm grip. Her tiny body was so tense it was actually starting to worry him. So Luke focused on lowering her anxiety first, rubbing her back and side. It was a long while before the anxiety went down and Luke began to feel her start to relax.

When he was sure everything was fine, Luke again asked . "What happened, kiddo?" He combed her hair, pushing it behind her ear.

Shelby chewed on her lip, staring at nothing in particular. Finally she answered, in a soft scared voice, "I tot i' was you."

"You thought Rachel was me?" he repeated, making sure he heard right.

"Yes." Her voice cracked.

"That's okay, kiddo. We all make mistakes." Come to think about it, Shelby latched on to Rachel before she was completely turned around. Luke repeatedly rubbed her upper arm, affectionately. "You got scared, huh?"

Shelby nodded. "I no know where you were."

"I'm sorry, kiddo." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, squeezing Shelby to him.

Shelby finally looked up her dad.

He smiled for her. "Are you okay now?"

She nodded. "Uh huh."

"How do you feel about Rachel?" he asked, curious.

Shelby looked away at the floor.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You can say whatever is on your mind. Good or bad, just long's you're honest."

She still hesitated at first but after a minute or two of silence, said, "See okay, I guess."

"Rachel's okay?" he asked, finding her wording amusing.

"Ray-kul go' be'ter."

Luke had to force himself to keep smiling, hoping Rachel wasn't growing on the kid to the point there would be an attachment.

"Do you like Rachel?"

She just shrugged one shoulder.

Luke decided to change the subject. "Did you have fun with Alan and Ethan?"

Shelby perked up a little at the mention of her new friends. "We played ba'tles and we played my Gameboy. Etan likes you picked Squir'le."

"Yeah," he smiled, "I made a good choice?"

Shelby nodded. "I beat the five gym." Luke knew she meant the fifth gym. He also knew she had beaten the game, several times already.

"That's great, kiddo." The kid was now beaming from ear to ear as she stared up at him. It was amazing how much he alone could get her from her anxiety to calm, relaxed, and happy again. Shelby had come a long way in such a short time and it was so rewarding to see the progress she was making. Her teacher helped as much as possible too, along with the other kids. Shelby was made a head of cabbage in the play that was to be put on, Friday afternoon, in their classroom for the students' family and friends. Shelby learned that when she went to school on Monday and on the way home, asked her dad if she could invite Lorelai to come see it.

"You can ask her," he told her, kneeled at her level. They stopped inside Taylor's market, to pick up a few things before heading upstairs. Lorelai was sitting there on the couch, much to Luke's surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Rachel invited me.

"Oh," he replied.

"To look at some pictures."

"Good."

"Yeah, and go through your underwear drawer," she teased him.

Luke had slid his hands into his pockets. "Where is she?" he asked.

"Freezing your bra."

He looked at her confused what she meant by that. "Where?"

"The bathroom."

"Right," he nodded and headed over to his safe.

Shelby hurried over to plop herself down next to the woman, removing her hat.

"Hey, sweetheart. How was school?"

She shrugged.

Luke knelt in front of the safe, turning the dial. He looked over at the two and knew Shelby wanted to ask but couldn't get the words out. Not when Rachel was in the other room.

"It's a nice place you have here," Lorelai complimented him, holding an arm around the kid.

He thanked her, a little uncomfortable himself.

"I like the curtains," she stared over at them.

"Yeah, yeah, Rachel...picked them out." Out of the corner of his eye, Luke noticed Lorelai look down at Shelby and after a short moment, they were giggling, though he could only hear Lorelai's.

Rachel appeared from the bathroom. "Oh, hi," she greeted him and noticed Shelby there. "Hey there, Shelby." Shelby latched onto Lorelai, to hide her face. Since the incident, even after Luke assured her it was alright, Shelby still felt embarrassed around the woman. Rachel had even tried to make her feel better about it.

Rachel must have told Lorelai about the incident as she comforted the little girl. The women took the focus off of Shelby to help ease her anxiety by picking on Luke before he decided to head back downstairs. Shelby eventually hurried after him and buried her face in his leg.

Luke felt a spot on his pants get wet. "What's wrong, Shell?" he asked, making a fresh batch of coffee. He had thought it was tears that was wetting his leg but when he lifted Shelby up onto his side, Luke saw it wasn't just tears. Blood was leaking from her nose. "Aw, jeez." He set her on the counter and grabbed his cleaning rag since it was the closest thing he could find on short notice and held it on her nose. Using his other hand, Luke pinched the bridge of her nose.

Shelby tried to push the hand pinching her nose away.

"No, kiddo. I have to pinch your nose to stop the bleeding."

She kept pushing but her dad refused to let go until her nose stopped bleeding after a couple minutes. Luke took the rag away, leaning over to check. Her nose was a little bruised up and one had formed on her forehead.

"What happened, Shell?" he asked, gently.

"The table made me fall," she replied, softly in his ear.

Luke smirked. "The table made you fall?"

Shelby nodded. "And the floor hi' my nose."

"Did they now?" he went along with it. "Should I go beat up the table and floor?"

Lorelai came downstairs at that point. "You okay, sweetheart?"

"Yes," she replied, softly, which Luke repeated to Lorelai.

"Should probably put ice on her nose," she suggested. "It'll help with the bruising."

"Right." Luke headed into the kitchen and grabbed a package of frozen vegetables from the walk-in freezer, wrapping it in a clean rag and pressed it against her nose. "Hold it, kiddo."

"I' too cold," Shelby protested, softly, pushing the vegetables away from her face.

"It'll help numb your nose and make it feel better, sweetie," Lorelai assured her.

Shelby still refused the 'ice pack.'

"If you let your dad put ice on your nose, I'll buy you a treat from Doose's market," she bribed which Luke questioned about. "You have to offer a kid a reward."

"By bribing them?"

"Come on, Luke. The kid just got hurt. Treats are supposed to help make them feel better."

It had worked too. Shelby had taken the vegetables from him and was holding it on her nose, wincing from the cold. Luke made sure the rag was between her bare skin and the frozen packaging. They waited ten minutes which he offered Lorelai some coffee while they waited. Afterwards, Luke let her take Shelby next door to pick out a treat. He expected Shelby to pick out candy or another pop tart. Instead, she picked out a small bag of Doritos, already starting on them when the girls returned.

Letting Shelby eat them at one of the tables, Luke headed into the back where the storage room was, to unbox a latest shipment order and take inventory.

Lorelai had followed behind. "So… This the fascinating storage area where fascinating acts of storage take place."

"Yep," he replied, setting a large jar of pickles on the shelf.

"Some good-looking pickles," she complimented.

Luke stopped to look at her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm admiring your pickles."

He grabbed another jar to set on the shelf. "You shouldn't be in here."

Lorelai shrugged, "Why not?"

"My insurance only covers me."

"That's not true. You're kidding, right?" Lorelai looked around the room.

Luke stopped unboxing to explain, "It's not safe, something might fall. Shelby's not even allowed back here."

"You don't like me hanging out with Rachel, do you?"

He stopped a third time, to look at the woman. "Oh, come on."

"Am I right?"

"You can hang out with anybody you want," he argued.

"Not my question."

Luke turned around, grabbing the box as he said, "Well, that's my answer," and tossed it onto the floor. Luke moved to the other side of the table, to open another box.

"Well, we're eight," she said.

"Just a friendly piece of advice," he pointed out, "don't get too attached to her." Luke cut into another box with a boxcutter.

"Rachel?"

"Yeah, she's got an interesting habit of getting bored and leaving, usually without saying good-bye." Luke ripped the box open with his hands, struggling just a tad.

"People break habits," she pointed out.

"Not often."

"Shelby's doing well, breaking hers, I've noticed."

"Yeah, well, she doesn't get that from Rachel."

"So, you're just convinced that's what she's gonna do," said Lorelai.

"I'll bet ya that's exactly what she does." Luke had finally gotten the box open and moved the set of pickle jars onto the shelf behind him.

"Well, let's say it is what she does. Don't you think there's the tiniest possibility if Rachel leaves Stars Hollow this time, it's because she thinks you don't want her to stay?"

Luke stopped and stared over at her at once, placing his hands on his sides. "Are you two talking about me?" he questioned of her.

"No," Lorelai shook her head but quickly grinned, "yes."

He straightened up as he said, "Okay, I don't mind you hanging out with her, but you will not talk about me."

"Why?" she questioned. "It's fun. We wear plaid, take turns not shaving." Lorelai took a drink of her coffee.

"There will be no Luke talk, period," he laid down the law and continued moving the jars.

"Do you want to know what I think about the situation?"

"Nope." Luke finally finished with that box as well, tossing that one away next.

"Are you sure?"

"Look, if you're gonna tell me at least help me unload." He pushed a box towards her before opening one in front of him.

She stepped towards the table. "Can I use the fun cutter thingy?"

Luke ripped his box open before he told her, "Not if you call it the fun cutter thingy."

"Please?" she begged, nicely.

He held it out to her with the blade pointed down. "Cut the box, not your hand."

Lorelai took it from him. "Good tip. You should teach." She ripped into the box. "Ha! Fun."

"Talk," he reminded her.

"Well, I don't know what's going on in Rachel's head because I'm not a Vulcan. But from the way she talks about you and Shelby, and the way she smiles when your name comes up. I'm pretty sure that she's serious about staying in Stars Hollow, this time."

"Let me guess," he said, now unboxing cans of broth onto the shelf, "Rachel told you she wanted to put down roots, that she's serious this time, and that she's tired of the road and realizes what's lacking in her nomadic existence."

"She didn't use the phase, nomadic existence, but basically yes, that's what she said." Lorelai was now loading containers of mustard onto the shelf across from him.

"I've heard the speech. I know the speech by heart. The only difference this time was she added she was ready to be Shelby's mother."

"Well, I think she means it this time."

"You don't know her like I do," he argued.

"I-I don't, but she seems sincere."

Luke paused in confusion and stared over at her, placing his hands on his sides again. "How do you know?"

Lorelai froze in place. "Her nose didn't grow," she glanced away with her eyes.

"Why are you taking her side?"

Lorelai let go of the container she had been holding onto. "I'm not taking her side," she argued, defensively.

"Well, it sounds like you're taking her side," he raised his voice a little.

"Well, wash out your ears. I'm not taking her side."

He pointed at himself, "I mean, you're practically pushing her on me."

"I just want you to be happy," she assured him

"And you know what makes me happy?"

Lorelai glanced off to the side. "No, I just know that you've been carrying a torch for her for a really long time."

Luke leaned his hands on the table, "I have not been carrying a torch for her," he denied.

"Well, you wanted this to happen."

He stood up and asked, defensively, "How do you know what I wanted to happen?"

"Didn't you?"

Luke stared at her for a split second before turning away, caught. "Yeah, I guess." It was stupid, yes but he did care about the woman at one point.

"Okay. So, here it is, right in front of you," she pointed out. "Just take it. Take the plunge. She could be ready."

Luke looked up at her.

"Just jump in and believe her." Lorelai dropped her gaze. "Unless…" she paused, "you know… there's some other reason you don't want to."

He looked up again. There was actually two reasons Luke didn't want to but it wasn't like he could boldly admit to one of them. "Like what?"

"Like...I don't know." Lorelai fidgeted with the box.

"There's Shelby to think of," he admitted one of the reasons to her. The easiest one. "I can't let Shelby get attached to someone who's gonna hurt her in the end." Luke dropped his gaze towards the table again.

"You can't always protect her from getting hurt," she told him, gently.

He glanced at her. "I can try."

"No, Luke, you can't. Shelby has to know there are risks in life when putting her heart out there. If she doesn't learn that now, it'll be harder when she's older."

Luke stared down at the table. He couldn't help wince at the thought of Shelby meeting her first love and break-up. It was bad enough she had fallen upstairs earlier and he wasn't there to catch her.

"I never wanted Rory to get hurt either but I knew it would happen eventually like it did with Dean. As much as I really wanted to protect her I knew I couldn't. She's gonna be on her own soon, away at college without me."

"Shelby has been through too much already, how can I put one more risk on her?"

"It's her mother, Luke. Shelby deserves to know."

"She doesn't deserve a mother who would walk out on her, _again_ ," he pointed out, irritably.

"Doesn't mean you close the door."

"What door?"

"I always kept the door open for Rory's father. It had to be his idea whether or not to use it," she explained, "regardless if he chooses not to."

Luke looked away.

"What if Shelby asks about Rachel when she's older and Shelby finds out she met her once but you never told her? She'll be devastated."

"I'll tell her, it was for the best, that I was looking out for her," he said.

But Lorelai shook her head. "Shelby won't see it that way. At least not at first. She'll be upset that she got to meet her mom but didn't know it. You can't keep the connection blocked no matter how upset you are towards Rachel. She'll always be her mother whether you like it or not."

The room grew silent as Lorelai's words sunk in. The two continued unloading for a moment until Luke finally stated he would think about it. Lorelai finished the box and thanked him for letting her use his boxcutter and left.

Luke stared after her. Even though he didn't want his daughter to get hurt, Luke really would have liked if she knew who her mother was. A kid did need both a mom and a dad.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Luke sat there for a real long time, mulling things over in his head. Lorelai's words echoed through his mind as he thought about the last few months. The two of them had gone through so much since Luke first received that phone call. They were just now starting to hold conversations and Luke did not want to lose that if he took this risk. But what if Lorelai was right? What if this was even worse in the future if he didn't do this now? Luke never wanted his kid upset with him. But he didn't want to see her hurt either.

He rubbed his hands along his face. This was a tough call and Luke had no clue on what to do.

Movement out in the hall caught his eye.

Luke looked up to see Shelby peeking in as she held onto the wall.

He stood up off the crate he had been sitting on and made his way over, kneeling in front of her. "I took longer than I expected, huh?"

She nodded, slowly while still holding onto the wall. "Wha' you doing?"

"Uh...well I was doing some thinking."

"Abou' wha'?"

Luke stared at the floor, deciding what to say. He still did not know. So he decided to ask Shelby. "Shell?"

"Yes?"

"I…" he took a deep breath in, hesitating afterwards. "I know we haven't really talked about your mom, much. Do y...would you like to?"

Shelby had turned fully around and was leaning against the wall with her palms flat against it behind her back. She just shrugged. "You say I have her smile."

Luke moved over to Shelby's other side, placing his back up against the wall. "That's right," he smiled for her.

"Where is my mom?"

It felt like his throat suddenly closed up, keeping him from speaking. Then the next question caught him off guard.

"Is Lor-lai my mom?" Why not? Lorelai had been here, almost every day, helping with Shelby. Any kid would think she was their mother if she hung around that often.

"No, sweetheart," he managed to get out.

"Oh." Shelby didn't sound disappointed. It was a simple monotone response that any kid would give. After a few moments, she asked, "Did my mom die?" Luke hadn't even been sure if Shelby knew that concept yet. Though she did live with several families. Surely, it would have been bound to come up among any of those, especially with older kids. A pet or grandparent, or even on TV.

Luke took in another breath. "No, sweetheart. Your mom's still living," he replied, gently, trying to remain calm enough to speak.

"How come she no here?"

There it was. The moment of truth. Luke couldn't lie to Shelby. But what would she say? Do?

Luke held his hands up, inviting Shelby in.

Shelby stepped over his foot and dropped onto him. She was wearing her hat, backwards which Luke knew that was the equivalent to not wearing it.

"What would you say if…" he paused for a brief period. "If I told ya, your mom was here?"

She shrugged. "Where is she?"

Luke didn't respond. He looked at his daughter as they sat there in silence. It must have been uncomfortable for her because Shelby pulled her gaze away towards the floor. Before he said anything Luke needed to make sure Shelby knew what really mattered.

"Shelby, you know I love you. Right?"

"Yes," she looked back up. "I love you, too."

He smiled at that and kissed her forehead where the bruise was still visible. "I'll always love you, Shell. Nothing can ever change that, and I will always be here for you. Nothing you ever do can make me love you any less. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me," Luke told her. "That said, I just want you to know, the reason I haven't said this sooner was because I was trying to protect you from getting hurt."

"Like when I fell?"

Luke shook his head. "Not that kind of hurt. I'm talking about in here," he held a hand over where her heart was.

"My heart?"

This time he nodded. "Madison told me how it was while you were in foster care. She told me about the boy who locked you in a closet and you wouldn't scream for help."

Shelby dropped her gaze at that. Of course now he knew because of her anxiety she felt she couldn't yell.

"That had to be really scary, huh?"

She nodded.

"And meeting all those people who wanted to make you a part of their family," he continued, rubbing her side, comfortingly.

Shelby remained silent.

Luke hesitated before he added, "And she told me about Bailey."

Tears suddenly appeared at the mention of her mentor.

Luke pulled Shelby in and squeezed her to him, kissing her head. "That's why I worried about letting you get to know Rachel. I didn't want you to have to lose someone else. But unfortunately, that's the way life is, kiddo. People come and go in our lives. There's hellos and then there's good-byes. We can't guarantee how long it'll be in between. I'll be here for good but there'll be others who won't and," he choked a little but cleared it away to continue, "I was afraid Rachel would be the one who leaves you."

"I no ge' i'." she looked up at him with a puzzled look on her face.

Luke took another breath in. "Rachel is...Rachel is your mom, sweetheart." He paused to wait for a reaction. Things were quiet as the words sunk in. Shelby just stared up at him. Luke wasn't sure if he should say something or treat it how he gets her to speak. In the end, he decided to wait, at least for a few moments. When enough time had passed, he finally asked, "how do you feel about Rachel being your mom?"

Shelby was staring at the floor, quiet. Finally, she asked, "Will she really leave, Dad?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. She likes to move around a lot. But she says she wants to stay this time for you."

Shelby looked up to ask, "For me?"

"She wants to make up for the lost time being your mom." Luke didn't have the heart to tell his daughter how her mother had left him several times without so much as a good-bye, hoping this was it. That Rachel was going to stay true to her word this time. "It's okay if you don't want to give her a chance. I won't make you call her, mom if you don't want to."

"But if Ray-kul is my mom I have to."

"No you don't, sweetheart. That's your decision. If you want to, great. If not, that's okay too."

Shelby looked away at the floor again. It seemed like she was mulling things over now.

"It's a risk, I know, sweetheart. But I'll always leave that door open for the two of you."

"Wha' door?" she looked back at her dad.

Luke chuckled. "It's not an actual door, kiddo. I mean if you or your mom wanted to see each other, it'll be okay with me."

"Okay," she finally said.

He was taken aback. His head jerked at the sudden response. "You want to try it?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Even if...she...might leave?"

Again, Shelby nodded.

Luke couldn't help smile a little. He pulled her in on his shoulder and hugged her. A part of him inside was still fighting it, but another part wanted to give things one more try. "So, I guess we should head upstairs and empty out a drawer for her, huh?" Luke said afterwards.

"Mom needs to put her stuff in something," she shrugged.

He kissed her cheek, holding it for a moment.

They stood to their feet before making their way upstairs. First thing Luke did was head over to the dresser, which Shelby remained at his side, but stole glances over at Rachel. Luke pulled out the top drawer where he kept his socks and set it on the floor, combining the sock contents with one of his other drawers. Once the drawer was empty, Luke lifted it up and slid the drawer back into place.

Rachel had been sitting over on the couch.

He turned to look over at her and let out another breath of air.

Shelby pinned herself to his leg, also looking over at the woman.

"Go on," Luke encouraged, softly.

She looked up at him, stealing another glance over at Rachel. After a couple of minutes, Shelby let go of his leg and shyly made her way over, grabbing Pikachu on the way. When she reached the end of the couch, closest to Luke, Shelby stopped and did not go any further.

"Hey, Shelby. You okay? You ran out of here so fast, Lorelai and I wasn't sure. You fell pretty hard, there."

Shelby nodded, squeezing Pikachu in a tight hold. Its paws were smashed against her chest that it made Pikachu start talking and moving.

Rachel leaned forward. "Is something wrong?" she asked, sounding concerned.

Luke moved over there as he spoke up. "It's okay, Shell," he assured her, stopping behind her and looked directly at Rachel. "She knows."

Rachel stared up at him, her mouth open in surprised relief. She looked over at Shelby and sniffed back some tears. "Shelby."

Shelby was chewing on her lip, watching Rachel, carefully.

"Shelby, I just want you to know how sorry I am. I never should have walked away. I just got scared of being a mom, that's all. It had nothing to do with you, I promise."

The two adults waited to see what Shelby would do. A few minutes had passed with Luke assuring her, it was okay before Shelby moved. To their surprise, the little girl made her way over to Rachel and sat down next to her. Rachel waited for Shelby, not making any kind of move so Shelby could make the first one. Another few minutes passed before she put an arm around her mother, shyly.

Slowly and carefully, Rachel wrapped her own arm around the little girl and semi hugged her in return. Shelby never said anything and the semi hug never turned into a full hug. It didn't even last as long as the other hugs Shelby usually gave. It was something, at least.

Luke moved over to join the girls. "The top drawer is yours," he admitted to her, sitting on his daughter's other side.

"Thank you," she mouthed, barely audible and looked back down at Shelby, who had taken her arm back.

"And I guess you can move off the couch now. I mean, if you want."

Rachel smiled up at him, switching back to Shelby. "Is there anything you would like to do right now, Shelby?"

Shelby turned around and stood up to place her knee on the couch, reaching up for her dad's ear. Luke hunched over to listen as she said, "TV," in a tiny whisper for only him to hear which he said aloud to Rachel.

"Can I watch with you?"

Shelby nodded.

She picked up the remote from the coffee table and turned the TV on.

"Just thirty minutes, Shell, then I want you working on your homework," Luke told her.

Shelby switched the channel. Her favorite show was already on and started watching it. Her parents sat on either side, watching as well.

The following day, Luke finally allowed Rachel to pick Shelby up from school. They didn't come straight home, though but she let him know they wouldn't. Rachel took Shelby on a walk, just the two of them.

Word had already gotten around that Shelby knew who her mother was. He had no idea how much the town loved his kid until that day. Luke had several people asking for confirmation on his decision and noticed Rachel getting some looks as she left the diner to go pick up Shelby. Guess he wasn't the only one who didn't want to see Shelby get hurt.

Lorelai stopped by while the girls were on their walk. "How'd it go?"

"Good," he replied. "Shelby took it better than I thought."

She smiled. "Where is Shelby?" Lorelai looked around the diner.

"Rachel wanted to take a walk with her."

"You seem relatively calm," she pointed out.

"Oh sure. No big deal. She is her mother, after all, like you said," he shrugged, but on the inside he was freaking out. Freaking out more than he had ever freaked out before. What if something were to happen? What if Shelby fell again, or what if she got scared and Luke wasn't there to make it all better. The huge thing Luke had recently just thought of that he hadn't thought of before was, what if Rachel did leave again but tried to take Shelby with her. He knew Rachel wouldn't do something like that but whose mind didn't come up with the worse case scenario? "This'll be good for Shelby."

Lorelai agreed. "It will, and you too."

Luke stared at her, confused. "Me?"

She nodded. "Yeah, having someone around to help you with her so you don't have to do it alone."

"Shelby's not that huge of a handful."

"Get her out of her shell and she might become a handful," Lorelai teased.

Luke snickered at the thought of his little girl slowly coming out of her shell and becoming a handful. Not in a bad way. Unfortunately, unlike regular childhood shyness, no one really grows out of selective mutism. With effort, a kid can overcome it, but it won't completely go away. It was something Shelby would have to deal with for the rest of her life.

"So, hey," he changed the subject, "did Shelby ever get the chance to ask you her question, yesterday?"

"No. What question is that?" she asked.

"Her class is doing _Peter Rabbit_ for the parents and anyone else who wants to come. Shelby had asked me if you could come. I told her she would have to ask you."

"What time is it? I have dinner with my parents on Fridays, remember?"

"It's the last hour and a half of the school day, in their classroom."

"Oh, well then, I should be able to make it," she perked up.

"I'm sure Shelby would be excited to hear that." Right after Luke said that, Shelby and Rachel had returned, coming in the entrance of the diner. Shelby made a beeline for her dad which Luke scooped her up. "Hey, kiddo. How was it?"

Shelby held a thumb's up, smiling.

Rachel came over, standing next to where Lorelai was sitting. "We had a wonderful time. Didn't we, Shelby?"

She nodded.

Luke forced a smile for his daughter. "How about a snack?"

Shelby pointed over at the donuts. So he took her over to pick one out before setting Shelby down on her feet and told her to go grab a stool. While Luke set the donut on a plate, Shelby dashed over to climb on the stool next to Lorelai. She pulled herself up, sitting flat on her own.

"So," Lorelai leaned over. "I heard you have something you want to ask me."

Luke brought the donut over and set it in front of her.

Shelby nodded at her.

Leaning in even closer, Lorelai let Shelby ask, who barely whispered inside her ear, making sure only she heard.

"I would love to come see your play, sweetheart."

Shelby smiled at that and held her arms out. Lorelai wrapped an arm around the little girl who hugged her in return, this time with both arms. Up till this point, only Luke got a full on hug.

Luke couldn't help sneak a look over at Rachel, who was watching. He hadn't mentioned the play to her yet.

When Shelby pulled away, Rachel asked, "Is it alright if I came to see your play, Shelby?"

She looked around Lorelai and nodded before turning back to Lorelai, leaning in again, wanting to say something more.

"Rory will still be in school," Lorelai replied which Shelby frowned, picking up her donut. "I'll talk to her tonight though and see if she can get out of class early."

Shelby perked up a little.

Before Friday, Rachel talked Luke into seeing a movie so Luke asked Lorelai if she could babysit Shelby for a couple hours. Lorelai was happy to have Shelby over and the three of them, including Rory, had a girls' night of movies and pizza until he returned to pick her up.

In fact Shelby ate so much she ended up dealing with a stomach ache. Shelby felt it on the drive home. The only reason Luke found out about it was because he happened to look over and see Shelby hugging her stomach and making soft whimpering noises.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" Shelby didn't answer. She was squeezing her abdomen area with her head back against the seat. "You ate a lot of food and now your stomach hurts, huh?"

She gave a pitiful nod. Another whimper escaped from her mouth.

He pulled up in front of the diner and parked. Heading around to Shelby's side, Luke opened her door and lifted her into his arms, carrying Shelby upstairs and took her over to her bed where he laid her down. Luke helped remove her shoes and jacket, and covered her up.

"I'm gonna go downstairs and grab some ginger ale. It'll help settle your stomach." He leaned in to kiss the side of her forehead before hurrying downstairs to the diner's kitchen. Luke grabbed a bottle of ginger ale from the kitchen's fridge and took it back upstairs where he found Rachel sitting at her side. "She ate a lot of food over at Lorelai's house and upset her stomach." he explained to her.

Luke grabbed a cup from one of the upper cupboards and brought it over to Shelby, sitting beside her. He encouraged her to sit up and handed the drink to her. Shelby took it, taking a sip.

When Shelby had her fill, she passed the drink back to her dad and pointed over at Pikachu, who was over on Luke's bed. Rachel offered to grab the toy and brought it back with her, passing the toy to Shelby, who hugged it to her.

Luke rubbed a hand along her upper arm as he held an arm around Shelby.

She patted his leg wanting to tell him something.

He leaned over, putting his ear even where her mouth could reach.

"Rub my tummy, please?"

Luke smiled. It was a gesture he would do whenever they would cuddle together. This was the first she requested it though. Having her lay down, Luke laid with her and began rubbing circles on her stomach.

Rachel had remained there at the foot of the bed, not saying a word. No one did. The apartment was in complete silence.

Eventually, Shelby fell asleep giving Luke the opportunity to rise.

Rachel had moved towards the couch, leaning forward on her hands.

He joined her.

She took her hands away and held her arms on her legs, to look over at him. "You are amazing with her."

Luke just shrugged it off, humble. "It took a lot of time and patience to get to this point."

"I can tell how much she adores you." Rachel smiled over at him.

He chuckled to himself, at the floor.

"I really do appreciate you giving me another chance. Whenever I look at her… See how much she struggles…"

Luke was staring at the floor. "Beating yourself up about it, again and again isn't going to make things better. What's done is done. All we can do now is help Shelby move on from it and show how much we love her."

She nodded. "I'm not gonna abandon Shelby again."

"I hope not either." Luke watched her.

"I promise. And I want to make things work between us, for Shelby," she told him.

He smiled at that and wrapped an arm around her.

Friday came. Shelby may have been excited for the play, she never let herself be seen. The classroom had been set up for it. The tables and chairs were moved off to the side, to make room for regular sized chairs so the parents didn't have to sit on child-sized ones. Lorelai and Rory had beat Luke and Rachel there, already talking with Shelby. Shelby was showing off her artwork Darla had on display with the rest of the class, on the walls. They walked over to them.

"Hey," Luke greeted.

They turned around which Shelby flung herself at Luke's legs, hugging them to her.

"Hey," Lorelai returned the greeting. "Shelby was just showing us her artwork."

"Really? Which ones?" he asked.

She pointed out the snail Shelby had made. The body was made from green construction paper with google eyes while the shell was made from a paper plate with small, colorful squares of tissue paper glued on in a pattern. Shelby had chosen orange, red, and yellow since those were her favorite colors. Luke wondered if he should be worried his daughter's favorite colors made up the colors of fire, to be honest.

Luke, Rachel, Lorelai, and Rory took their seats in the second row, towards the center. Rachel had her camera out as Darla stood at the front of the class, welcoming the parents and others who had come to see the play.

"Welcome, parents and family members to our end of the year class play. On behalf of the children, I'd like to thank you all for coming to see our performance of _Peter Rabbit_. We hope you will enjoy the show." Darla moved off to the side as the first batch of students walked into the area they had made to look like Mr. McGregor's garden, carrying vegetables made out of large construction paper. Towards the back of the line one student held their vegetable up where it covered their face.

Luke recognized the pair of legs anywhere and smiled as he watched the students line up in rows as a garden would be. He could hear the sound of a shutter in his ear as Rachel grabbed a shot.

Once the vegetables were situated, five more of the students, including Alan, joined but stopped out in front, facing the audience.

Liddy was also among them, who spoke first. "Once upon a time, there were four rabbits."

Three other girls and Alan stood beside her and introduced their rabbit names.

"Flopsy."

"Mopsy."

"Cottontail."

"And I'm Peter," Alan pointed to himself with his thumb.

All five had paper rabbit ears stapled around their heads. Alan wore a blue coat like the one from the book.

"They lived with their mother under a fir tree," Liddy continued. "One morning, Mother Rabbit had the rabbits go pick blackberries for supper." She turned to the others. "But be very careful and stay away from Mr. McGregor's garden. Your father had an accident there and…"

Alan waved his hand in her direction, "I know, I know. He was baked into a pie."

"That's right, Peter. You must not go near there or the same thing will happen to you." Liddy then turned and walked "off stage."

There were three small pails on the floor at their feet. The girls picked them up and pretended to be picking blackberries.

The one who was Flopsy looked up to see Peter not helping. "Aren't you going to help us, Peter?" she asked of him.

"I don't want to pick blackberries. I'm going to go pick some yummy carrots from Mr. McGregor's garden instead."

"But you heard what Mother said. We are not supposed to go near Mr. McGregor's garden. Don't you remember what happened to Father?" said Cottontail.

"I'm not afraid of Mr. McGregor," he waved them off and hopped off towards the garden. Though it was more of a skip Alan was doing. Alan 'hopped' throughout the garden, taking pretend bites out of the vegetables.

Luke stole glances at Shelby, who now and then stole peeks from behind her cabbage before quickly pulling back, especially when Alan started skipping around.

Soon, Ethan walked into the garden, wearing a straw hat and carrying a toy rake.

Liddy continued narrating. "While Peter was eating his fill of carrots, radishes, and cabbage, Mr. McGregor came out to do some work, catching the little rabbit in the act."

Alan stopped and turned on his heel to face his brother, acting surprised. Ethan began to chase him throughout the garden.

"Mr. McGregor chased Peter all over the garden, trying to catch the rabbit, who had forgot the way back to the gate."

"Stop, thief!" Ethan called out.

"As he ran, Peter's shoes came off." Alan stopped long enough to pull off his tennis shoes and dashed behind the last row of the other kids where two others had appeared, grabbing a hold of him. "Soon, Peter got caught in a gooseberry net. No matter how much he tried, Peter could not pull free. He then started to cry afraid he would surely be caught. If only he had listened to his mother," Liddy shrugged her hands up.

Alan pretended to be sad.

Two other students walked over from the side, a boy and a girl, and stopped in front of Alan. "Two sparrows heard Peter's cries and flew down to cheer Peter on, saying he could do it." He pulled harder. The two holding onto his arms let go so Alan could remove the coat, dropping it on the floor and ran along the left side of the garden, just as Ethan ran over.

"Finally, Peter found the gate and squeezed underneath, finally free of Mr. Gregor. Mr. McGregor took his coat and shoes and made a scarecrow out of them to scare away the blackbirds." Another boy had put on the coat, but not the shoes, and stood in the center of the garden, holding his arms out like a scarecrow. "Peter ran all the way home to his mother. His mother was disappointed to hear Peter had not listened and lost his coat and shoes."

Liddy turned around to face Alan. "I warned you not to go near Mr. McGregor's garden, Peter."

"I know. I'm sorry, Mother." Alan held his stomach, pretending as if he had a stomach ache.

She turned back to the audience to conclude the play. "Peter did not feel well to enjoy the blackberry dinner their mother had planned that night. So, his mother sent him to bed with some camomile tea while Flopsy," the girls from the start, returned as their names were mentioned, "Mopsy, and Cottontail ate their dinner of blackberries, milk, and bread. The end."

The audience clapped as the whole class lined up to take a bow. Shelby remained hidden in the back, refusing to take down her paper cabbage.

When the clapping died down the class recited in union. "That was our play of _Peter Rabbit_. We thank you for coming and we hope you will come back for our kindergarten graduation show at the end of the month. We will share with you all we have learned in kindergarten. Good-bye and have a wonderful day." The students then divided off, going two separate ways. Darla returned to inform everyone there was fruit punch and treats for all to enjoy.

Shelby rejoined Luke, Rachel, Lorelai, and Rory, who gave her praises.

"You played that cabbage well," Lorelai said. "You looked good enough to eat."

Shelby smiled up at her.

"Can I have a high five for a great play?" Rory asked her, bending over.

She nodded and smacked her hand, gently.

Luke couldn't be anymore relieved when he heard Shelby would be finishing kindergarten and moving onto first grade, next year. While she was showing Rachel her artwork, Luke talked with Darla.

"I still can't believe this is the same kid who wouldn't come out of the cupboard, a month ago," she was saying.

He shrugged in agreement.

Darla then went on and on how much improvement Shelby has been making. She still wasn't speaking in class or anything, but Shelby was sitting in her seat, doing her work, and sitting with them during story time and eating in the cafeteria at their table. A hint of proudness was spreading across his face even when Luke tried to contain himself. However, they were still a little nervous. Unlike the play where Shelby could hide herself, there would be no way for her to hide during the kindergarten graduation show the class was going to put on for the parents. Luke had a little less than a month to prepare Shelby for it. Well, the kid came this far. No telling what Shelby would surprise him with, in a few short weeks.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Another week had come and gone with Shelby getting to know her mom. Rachel had took to helping Shelby with her homework. The Saturday before they had also stopped by the library which Shelby got her first library card and picked out some books. Every night after Luke gave her, her bath and got her ready for bed, Rachel would offer to read to her. At first, Shelby kept her distance, keeping some space apart but could still see the pictures. That following Friday, Shelby started closing the gap little by little, listening. There was still no bond like she had with her dad though.

Monday evening when the diner wasn't as crowded, Shelby sat at the counter, drawing pictures. After Caesar left, she finally spoke, now that they were alone. "How come you no have coloring menus?"

Luke was packing everything up for the night as she followed with her eyes. "I don't know. Never really thought about it, I guess," he replied.

"You should have tem," Shelby suggested.

He couldn't help smile at the suggestion. "I should, huh?"

"Yes, and kids will no be bored while tey wai' for their food."

Luke playfully grabbed at her head as he walked by. Once he got everything put away, Luke leaned his elbows on the counter across from where Shelby was sitting.

"What's that you're drawing?"

"A dog playing with a 'tick. I saw i' at the park when Mom and I wen'," she replied as she colored the dog in with a yellow crayon.

"Oh, I see." Luke watched for a moment before he continued. "So, you seem to be getting along with your mom."

Shelby kept on coloring, switching to a red crayon for the dog's collar.

Luke tried to think of more to say. "You know, it's going to be her birthday on Wednesday. Do you have any ideas what we can give your mom?"

She stopped to look up. "I can draw her a picture."

"That sounds good." Luke had never been great at gift-giving and was hoping Shelby had any ideas. "Can I put my name on it too so we can say it's from the two of us?"

"Maybe I can make the card and you can buy some-ting," Shelby perked up. "Like a team."

"Why don't I make the card and you buy a gift?" he teased her, playfully.

"No, Dad," she shook her head. "I no money."

"Oooh, I thought you had some money hidden away somewhere."

Shelby smiled. "Nope. You no give me a allow'nce."

Luke smiled in return. "Do I take that as a hint?" he teased her some more.

She giggled to herself.

"Tell ya what. If you want an allowance, you can earn it by doing some small jobs down here, like…" he looked around behind him and around the place. "How about restocking napkins on each table, every day?"

"Okay. How much do I ge'?"

Luke paused to think. "How about...a quarter a day?"

Shelby stared at her dad as if displeased. "Jus' a quarter?"

"For now. Maybe for your birthday, every year, I can give you a raise as you get older."

"Wha' is a raise?"

"A raise is when you receive more money than what you were making before."

Shelby frowned in disappointment.

"What's that look for, kiddo?" he asked.

She glanced up at him with just her eyes, still holding the crayon in her hand. "I have to wai' for my bir-day?"

"Yes, but did you know if I give you a quarter a day, by the end of the week those quarters will add up to a dollar and seventy-five cents? And two weeks, it'll add up to three dollars and fifty cents. In a month, that's seven dollars and fifty cents if you save your money."

"How much I save if I wan' to buy a Nintendoh?"

"Uh, I don't know. Probably at least a hundred dollars."

Shelby frowned again. "Ta' a long time to save."

Luke thought on it. A Nintendo would seem to make a good Christmas present but would probably be a huge seller around the holidays. Then he remembered how much his father would make him work for the things he wanted and even when William would make him work regardless if there was a want or not. It did drive a work ethic into Luke, why not pass it along to Shelby. "If I pay you more you'll have to do more work than just napkins."

"Like wha'?"

He thought about small jobs a young child like Shelby could be able to do. Shelby was already helping upstairs with chores and she was getting close to turning six. "How about sweeping the floor and wiping down the tables? You do a great job doing it upstairs."

"How much will I ge' for ta'?"

"I think I could probably pay ya…," pausing, Luke thought some more for a few seconds, "Two dollars and fifty cents a day. That'll add up to around seventy in a month. That's the highest I can go. Deal?"

Shelby nodded. "Deal," she said.

At that moment, Rachel came downstairs. "What's a deal?" she asked, overhearing the last part.

Shelby shut down, burying her face in her arms. Her face turned bright red from being heard.

Luke reached over and rubbed her upper back.

Rachel wandered over. "I'm sorry, Shelby," she apologized, sincerely.

Luke moved his hand and nudged her side, tickling it to get a smile. Shelby tried to nudge away from his hand but being on a stool didn't make it any easy. She tried to hold her own against her dad's ticklish fingers. In the end, the resistance was futile and Shelby had to lift her head, showing him there was a slight smile. He pulled his hand back, folding it in underneath him.

"You two having fun down here?" Rachel looked between both of them.

Shelby nodded, not meeting eye contact. Luke figured she was still a little embarrassed. Even though they were getting along, Shelby still wasn't fully comfortable with having her mother around, yet.

"That's good," she smiled, gently and looked over at Luke. "I have dinner ready if you both are ready to eat."

He thanked her and told her they would be up in a minute. Once the sound of the apartment's door, shutting was heard, Luke continued their original conversation.

"So, you work on the card, I'll get the gift?"

Shelby nodded at the counter and that was the end of it.

The next morning, Shelby decided she wanted to wait and have breakfast when Lorelai and Rory got there, sitting with them while they played some game they made up.

When Luke came by with the coffee pot, he asked Shelby, "Do I even want to know what they're doing?"

Shelby just shrugged, holding a piece of bacon in her hand.

Rory had been the one to explain the rules. Unintentionally, Luke found himself watching as they waited for guy #3, who ended up being Kirk. Lorelai was bummed while Rory had fun with it.

Luke told Shelby to finish eating before she would be late for school and walked away, congratulating Kirk when he walked in. Kirk thanked him, confused and overheard Lorelai and Rory giggling. Thinking someone put a "kick me" sign on his back again, Kirk felt around behind him before storming out of the diner.

After breakfast, Lorelai offered to take Shelby to school on her way to the inn.

"You don't have to do that," Luke told her, humbly.

"I know but I want to. The school's on the route I take to get to the inn, anyway."

So Luke agreed. Later that day, he ended up running into Lorelai, coming out of the Cat Club, a store for cat lovers and a store Lorelai never thought she would see the guy come out of. He tried to walk away, feeling just as embarrassed as Shelby sometimes felt, if not more. But Lorelai followed just like a cat would, probing him until Luke eventually gave in and held the bag out to her. Inside were cat-shaped potholders.

"It's a present," he told her, quietly.

"For someone you hate?"

"It's Rachel's birthday, okay?" Luke confessed, "and don't say anything. She doesn't want anybody to know. She hates birthdays."

"Not as much as she's gonna hate these potholders," Lorelai pointed out.

Luke raised his voice with a shrug, holding it for a moment, "I don't know how to buy gifts. Okay? I don't like to buy gifts. I don't like getting gifts. I mean, this whole gift-giving-and-getting process is completely insane." He then went into one of his many rants until Lorelai stopped him.

"You know you cannot give her these potholders."

He hung his head, defeated. "Yeah, I know."

"Why don't you go to the mall?" she suggested. "Walk around a little? Take Shelby, I'm sure she can help you pick out something."

"No. No malls. I _hate_ malls." Luke held his hands up in disgust and began rant #2.

Lorelai lifted her hand in front of his face, interrupting him again. "Okay, Emma Goldman, I'll tell ya what? I'll go for you."

Luke stared at her, confused. "You're gonna shop for me?"

She shrugged, "I got the day off tomorrow. I was gonna go anyway."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're serious?"

"I'll go get a bunch of stuff, all returnable. I'll bring it to you, you can pick what you want and the rest, I'll return. I'll do all the work. All you have to do is point."

His mouth was slightly open. "Point?"

"One finger. Preferably your index."

Luke placed his hands on his sides as he stared down at the ground. "I don't know," he sighed.

"Luke," she said and shrugged, "this is the first special occasion you, Shelby, and Rachel will have shared as a family since she's been back. Don't you want to give her something nice?"

"Well, we are going out to dinner."

"Luke."

"Yeah, I know," he caved. "I gotta get her something nice."

"Then let me help," Lorelai pressed on.

"Alright. Thank you."

She smiled. "You're welcome."

Luke pulled out his wallet, to give her his credit card as he gave her strict guidelines. "Nothing too out there, okay? She's not into all that trendy stuff." He took the card out and held it towards Lorelai as Luke continued, "she likes simple, clean nature, okay? Elephants, candles, okay. Oh, hey, if you could find her a candle shaped like an elephant…?"

Lorelai cut him off a third time. "Okay, you know what? I've got it all under control."

"Okay. Thanks."

"Okay." Lorelai handed him back the bag of cat shaped potholders and told Luke to get rid of them as she walked away.

Once he returned them, Luke headed over to the school to pick up Shelby who asked in his ear if he got the gift yet.

"Not yet. Lorelai's gonna help us out."

She looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Buh, you buy i' and I make the card."

"I know and I tried, Shell. I got her these potholders that were shaped liked cats, I thought your mom might like. They even meowed. Kind of like your Pikachu you have, only they'll keep your mom from burning herself while she cooks." Luke tried to make them sound super cool to the kid and he thought they would, but then he saw her smack her hand to her forehead. "What?" he chuckled. "I thought they seemed like a good gift."

"You are bad, Dad."

"Hey, shouldn't you be on my side, here?"

"I no tink Mom would like i'."

"How do you know that?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I jus' do."

Back in the apartment, Shelby drew a picture of a cat and showed it to Rachel.

"Aw, that's cute, Shelby," she complimented. "I like cats."

Shelby then drew a mitten around it and showed her again.

Rachel looked at it, confused. "Uh, it's a cat on a mitten?"

She nodded and wrote, _wood you use tem to cook?_

"Would I use them to cook?" Rachel repeated. "What do you mean? You mean like potholders?"

Again, Shelby nodded.

"Maybe," she shrugged.

"Okay, that's it." Luke went over to where Shelby was standing on her knees at the coffee table and lifted her into the air, gently slamming the kid onto the couch. He then began to tickle her all over. "You think you're funny, huh?"

She laughed, inaudibly, rolling around underneath him.

Shelby tried to squirm away from his hold but Luke did not let up.

Rachel watched the scene with enthusiasm. "Would you like me to rescue you, Shelby?"

Shelby moved her head up and down as best as she could while she was being "attacked." Her mom held a hand out for her which Shelby grabbed onto, helping the kid to sit up. Technically, Luke let Shelby move and saw her crawl over to Rachel, smirking up at him.

Luke placed his hands on his sides. "Oh, you think your mom can protect you?"

She nodded.

"We'll see about that." Luke kneeled one knee on the couch and tried to reach out for her, which Shelby backed further behind her mom, still wearing the smirk. At least it showed she knew Luke was playing with her.

"I'll protect you, Shelby." Rachel leaned to the side, catching herself on the back part of the couch.

Luke tried to reach around, grabbing for Shelby. Shelby backed up more, moving up on the arm of the couch. He then stood back up and moved around to that side. It only made her switch back to the other side of Rachel, sitting up on her knees. Luke leaned on the arm of the couch. They watched each other for a moment, like gunslingers, before he pointed at nothing, asking, "what's that?" Shelby fell for it, looking in that direction. While she was distracted, Luke took the time to rush behind the couch and grabbed her up, holding on tight.

"Got ya!"

Shelby struggled in his hold as her dad held onto his daughter firmly planting a long kiss on her cheek. He then set her on feet. Shelby hugged herself and sulked towards the floor.

"Come here, sweetheart," Rachel called her over.

She didn't move.

"That was unfair of your dad, huh?" she said instead.

Luke kneeled to Shelby's level, holding onto her sides. Shelby backed out of his touch. "I'm sorry, Shell," he told her, sincerely. "I was just having fun with you. I thought it would be funny."

She just turned and headed over for her bed, turning on her music and laid down on her bed, wearing her headphones. Luke hated when Shelby got mad at him. It was rare when it happened. No one was perfect and every now and then, he would slip up too and do something to upset her. Only, Shelby never stayed mad at her dad for long. It usually lasted an hour or two before she would search him out and hug his leg. Sure enough, an hour and a half later, while Luke was downstairs tending to a customer, Shelby dashed over and hugged his leg, tight, burying her face into it. That was when Luke knew all was forgiven.

The following afternoon while taking a phone order, Lorelai stopped by the diner with several bags of stuff, purchased from various stores. There were so much she had to make two trips.

Once he hung up Luke demanded, "What the hell is this?"

Lorelai smiled at him. "The results of my shopping trip. All accomplished in two hours."

He wandered around her, staring at the stuff. "Impossible."

"I'm a savant." She spun around on her heels to face him again.

"Everything's returnable?" he made sure.

"Yes," Lorelai replied with a sigh. "Now sit down and relax. Let me show you what I got."

Luke slowly lowered himself onto the stool behind him and asked for his credit card back which she gave him. He gave it a once-over, stating that it looked tired.

"Where's Rachel?" she asked, first.

"She's out running some errands, including picking Shelby up from school." He replaced his card back in his wallet, returning it to his back pocket. "Shelby agreed with you, by the way."

"About?"

"The potholders being a bad gift. She even smacked her hand to her forehead which I had never seen her do up 'til then. Hopefully, you're not becoming a bad influence." He was mostly joking when Luke said that last part. In fact, he loved the influence the woman had on his kid.

"Kid's smart." Lorelai then went on to explain what she picked out for Rachel. A book and a new camera bag.

"Seems...right," he said, looking at them.

"You like?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Good."

There was still one more question that Luke had to wonder about. "What's all this?" he asked, pointing at the other bags she hadn't mentioned about.

"Well, Luke," she started and put her fingertips together, touching them to her chin. "Timing is a beautiful thing."

He glanced away for a second with his eyes, confused. "It is?"

"It is. So, I'm at the mall and I've already found Rachel's gifts and I've had two sugar/cinnamon pretzels, and I am buzzed on the sugar, and jazzed with the purchases, and I decide to take a victory lap through Bloomingdale's, and it just so happen there was an amazing sale in the men's department. I mean, gorgeous stuff." Lorelai twisted around to grab one of the bags behind her. "Look at this." She then showed off a shirt, stating she had gotten three different colors.

Luke shook his head, still confused. "For who?"

"For you."

"For me?"

Lorelai then started to run around either side of him, showing off the rest of the stuff as Luke tried to get a word in. "I thought you might like something new to wear when you take Rachel out, tonight."

"Well, thank you but it's a family dinner. Rachel didn't want to leave Shelby out of it. So take it back."

She looked up at him, surprised. "You're serious?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I can take Shelby shopping when she gets home. Nothing wrong with a nice, formal family dinner."

"Right now you'll probably scare the crap out of her." They then went back and forth, arguing over Luke trying the clothes on, and him stubbornly not giving in. She ended up chasing him down the back of the diner, cornering the poor guy until finally getting him to cave. Giving him some privacy, Luke tried on each piece of clothing, a few times, which Lorelai made him give a fashion show. The arguing continued throughout the process. It did make him look like a totally different person though.

As Lorelai was helping him with his belt, Rachel and Shelby had returned. Shelby was holding a brand new one hundred piece puzzle of dinosaurs.

Luke was the first to notice. "Oh, hi," he greeted which made Lorelai look up.

"Oh, hi. This is not what it looks like," she held up her hands, in defence.

Rachel stared back at them. "It looks like you're dressing him," she stated in observation.

"Then, this is exactly what it looks like."

"There was a sale at Bloomingdale's," Luke explained to Rachel.

"Six trillion percent off," Lorelai added.

Luke shrugged a hand out, "How can you walk away from that, huh?"

Rachel just shrugged.

"I'm gonna change now."

"Good. Well, I can still snag Shelby and take her shopping," Lorelai reoffered.

"It's okay. We can swing by the store nearby and pick up something for her."

"Alright then. I'm gonna go get Rory. Just enjoy the clothes."

"I will," he replied.

"Okay, good. Um, see you later, Rachel. Bye, Shelby." Lorelai gave the little girl a sweet smile, grabbing her purse on the way out.

When she was gone, Rachel looked back at Luke, confused, as well as Shelby, who was switching between the door and her dad, repeatedly.

Luke noticed the puzzle in Shelby's hands. "What ya got there, kiddo?"

She showed him the front of the puzzle.

"Oh, cool. A puzzle with dinosaurs," he nodded.

"I thought it could be something the two of us can work on together," Rachel explained.

"Oh, that's nice," he nodded and decided to finally go change, feeling some awkwardness.

They ended up just letting Shelby change into a clean, striped polo shirt and jeans, and had her take her bath early. It had been a struggle to convince Shelby to wear something nice. Luke couldn't help chuckle at the fact this must have been how Lorelai felt trying to convince him. It was a nice polo shirt anyway so it wasn't that big of a deal and the restaurant wasn't too fancy.

Shelby sat in between her parents. The restaurant didn't have a coloring menu so the wait was a little boring.

Luke noticed her, slouched in her seat, staring underneath the table. Reaching over, he playfully grabbed at her stomach. Even though she was eating well, now, Shelby still looked like she wasn't.

Shelby touched where her dad had grabbed her, a slight smile appearing on her face. She peeked up at him which Luke returned. No hats were allowed either, for either of them. Luke had decided that rule since they were having a nice family dinner.

"Shelby, can you sit up, please," they heard Rachel ask.

Shelby looked from her mom, over to Luke, who nodded. Reluctantly, the kid sat up and laid her head back against the seat.

Luke brushed a hand over the top of her hair, to flatten the hairs sticking up.

"So, I got a few words, today," Rachel said, proudly.

"Rach," Luke reminded her, "we're not supposed to make it a big deal when she speaks, remember?"

"I know, but it's an accomplishment. Right, Shelby?" She turned to her.

Shelby glanced up at her mom before dropping her gaze.

"I just wanted to express how proud I am of you."

Shelby stole another look up at her mom.

"This is all new to me and I'm still learning how to be a mom. Is that okay?" Rachel was leaning her arms on the table.

She nodded, a bit.

"You know what, though?"

Shelby shrugged one shoulder.

"I do love it, so far. You are a very bright and terrific girl and I love spending time with you." That made Shelby smile again and leaned over to her dad. Luke leaned his ear towards her.

"Can we give Mom her gif' now?" she whispered, softly.

"Sure, why not?" he told her. Luke grabbed the wide gift bag from where he had it under the table and set it on top. "From both me and Shelby."

"Oh," Rachel smiled. On top of the tissue paper was a folded piece of paper, she looked at first. Inside was the words, _HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM_ and a drawing of an elephant that Shelby had drawn. She had Luke write the words and told him which colors to use before coloring around the letters. "This is beautiful, sweetheart. I love it. Thank you." Rachel smiled between the homemade card and her daughter. "Can I give you a hug?"

Shelby nodded and scooted over to half hug her mom. Rachel hugged her head to her and kissed the top of it.

Rachel set the card on the corner of the table and turned her attention to the rest of the gift, removing the tissue paper. Looking inside first, she pulled out the book that was wrapped individually in matching tissue paper. Rachel stared at it with a look of surprise. "I didn't think you would remember mine and Lorelai's conversation the other day, much less cared."

"Well," Luke tried to come up with a quick excuse. "It...just...popped right into my mind, and since you loved the movie you would like to read the book."

"Uh huh," she nodded, slowly. Thankfully, Rachel didn't press it further and moved on. She pulled out the camera bag next.

"I just thought since your old one was falling apart, we'd get ya a new one," he shrugged.

Rachel stared at him, glancing over at Shelby. After a moment, she asked, "So, if you got me a new bag and a copy of _Out of Africa_ , why was Shelby asking me if I would use a potholder with a cat on it, yesterday?"

"Uh…" Luke felt caged now. "You know kids, today. Asking random questions." He picked up his Coke to take a drink. By the look, Luke could tell Rachel wasn't buying it and Shelby looked just as confused. "So, what did you two do this afternoon? Anything fun?" Changing the subject seemed best to him.

"Well, I tried to get all the boring errands done before Shelby got out of school, but we stopped by the hobby store where Shelby picked out the puzzle."

Luke raised his eyebrows at that. "You bought Shelby something on your birthday?"

"Sort of. Like I said, it's more for the two of us. I just let Shelby pick it out." She happened to catch Shelby slouching again, and reminded her to sit up. To keep her out of boredom, Rachel suggested, "Why don't you tell your dad what you did in school today."

Luke leaned forward so Shelby could speak. "What was it you did, kiddo?"

Shelby leaned closer to his ear and whispered for only him to hear, "I played kickball."

"Really," he responded, excitedly. "Did you score a homerun?"

She shook her head. "I did kick it really far."

"That is awesome. Thanks for telling me, kiddo." Luke planted several kisses on her cheek, making her giggle, inaudibly. She clammed up when their waiter brought their food. Rachel moved her gifts back inside the bag and set them back underneath the table so he could set their food down in front of them.

Luke cut Shelby's cheeseburger in half for her and moved her drink away so she wasn't filling up on just juice. He also poured her some ketchup for her french fries. There wasn't much to talk about while they ate unless the topic was about Shelby, then Luke was a chatterbox. If anyone known the guy, known that was not him. But every time the conversation turned back to Shelby, he would gladly say something and even tried to include Shelby in the conversation. Both of them did. It was Rachel who brought up her special talent. Up until this point, Luke was the only one who knew. He hadn't told anyone else, not even Lorelai.

"After you went downstairs, yesterday, Shelby started singing along to her music," she explained.

"Yeah, Shelby can get pretty involved in her music." He watched her, noticing Shelby wasn't eating her french fries. Instead, she was trying to build with them, using the ketchup as cement. It was actually getting all over her fingers.

"You know, music lessons might be a good thing for her."

He shrugged, "Shelby refused T-ball. I doubt she'd say yes to music lessons."

"T-ball?" Rachel gave him a knowing look.

"No, I wasn't trying to make her a baseball fan like me," Luke corrected her. "Shelby loves it when we go play catch. The last time we went camping, she wanted to bring along her bat and glove." He caught sight of Shelby licking her fingers before tapping him on the arm. "Yes, Shelby?" he lowered his head for her.

"Can we play catch again?" she whispered, softly.

Luke smiled. "Of course we can, kiddo. How about this Saturday, in between rushes?"

Shelby nodded, eagerly.

Luke gave her a kiss on the cheek, which Shelby reached her neck up to return one on his cheek.

"What did she ask?" Rachel asked, with curiosity.

"She wanted to play catch like I was saying." There was a slight proudness showing in his tone and returned to his own fries.

Rachel turned her attention to Shelby, who was also returning to hers. Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, Luke beat her to it.

"Shell, please stop playing with your fries and just eat them. They're not Lincoln logs."

Shelby gave him a pitiful, pleading look.

"No," he stood firm. "Eat or I'm taking away the fries." The burger was already gone.

She tried to look over at her mom for help but Rachel shook her head.

"I was just about to tell you the same thing if your dad hadn't."

Shelby buried her face into her arms, on the edge of the table. Her dad placed a hand to her back and rubbed it.

"You're fine, kiddo," he assured her.

"I've noticed Shelby likes to build or makes things, but doesn't have blocks or Legos."

A light bulb went off in Luke's head. "I never really thought about that until now." He made a mental note to stop by the store, the next day on his break. Maybe if the kid had something to build with, she wouldn't need to use french fries. Plus, the only toys the kid had was her _Pokemon_ figures and her truck. No wonder the kid watches a lot of TV. "What would you prefer, Shell? Blocks, Legos, or Lincoln logs?"

He saw Shelby shift a little but did not look up. Luke gave her a few minutes before asking again. When another few minutes went by, he tickled her side, closest to him. Shelby swatted at his hand with her elbow without looking up. Luke moved his hand out of the way and kept tickling her side. She tried to swat it again but the whole thing just repeated itself until Shelby finally lifted her head, giving him a kick under the table.

"Hey, no kicking," he scolded her, gently.

Shelby stuck her tongue out at him.

"Shelby," Luke warned.

At the sound of his tone, Shelby stopped and wrapped her arms around her dad and lifted her head to tell him something. "I taw we were playing," she whispered in his ear.

That made Luke feel guilty about scolding his daughter. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't realize you were playing." He wrapped an arm around Shelby and gave her a squeeze, rubbing her upper arm. "That was my fault."

"I' okay, Dad."

Luke couldn't help smile at Shelby.

Dinner overall turned out well. They had asked Shelby if she would like to take music lessons. Like T-ball, Shelby turned it down. Then, Rachel made the suggestion of talking with Ms Patty, of working out a deal where it would be one-on-one and no other kids. At least for now. That time, she just shrugged. Well, it wasn't a yes or no so they agreed to talk it over with Ms Patty first. That would also entail getting Shelby used to speaking around the woman as well before they could start the lessons.

Later, back at the apartment, Luke had Shelby change into her pajamas. Afterwards, she climbed into bed when Rachel called her over, offering to read to her. He joined the girls, expecting Shelby to latch onto him. Instead, Shelby sat next to Rachel and listened to the story. Don't get him wrong, Luke was glad the two were getting along and he really was trying to make this work so they could give Shelby the family she needed. This was what he had wanted. Rachel was his first and only serious girlfriend, and even though she had walked out on him, several times and gave up their child, Rachel seemed to be making up for it by finally putting in effort. But there was one other part that was still fighting. Something Luke could not shake from his mind.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Luke had made a run to the store between rushes the very next day. The amount of Lego sets the toy store had was astounding. There were so many different kinds aside from the original set. _Star Wars_ , pirates, an airport, castles, and lots of others. Scanning both sides of the aisle, Luke looked for the basic bucket set. He found them on the bottom shelf and grabbed a red bucket. Once he paid for it, Luke headed back to the diner where Lorelai was there, waiting.

"Hey. Been here long?" he asked.

"No, I just got here a few seconds ago."

Luke set the bucket of Legos on the counter and grabbed the coffee pot, along with a mug, pouring her some. "Does it make me a bad parent if I hadn't noticed the lack of toys my kid has?"

"Oh yeah," she replied, in a sarcastic, snappy tone, "let's lock you up and take away your kid."

"Jeez, what's wrong with you?"

"I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Why not?" he asked, sincere.

Lorelai stared at the counter, depressed. "Rory and I had a fight and she ran away."

"What?" Luke just about had a heart attack as if she had just told him Shelby had run away or something. "Where?"

She held up a hand, not lifting her gaze, "She's fine. She's at my mother's."

"Aw, jeez… Throw that information in with the first part. You'll scare a person to death."

Lorelai apologized. Finally she looked up again, to continue, "you know, I got in my car three times to go get her. I drove halfway there and drove back. Drove halfway there and drove back. I actually ran out of gas driving halfway there and back."

"She'll cool off and come home."

"I know," she sighed. "Breaking up with Dean has been so hard on her. I know I said you can't protect your kid, but I just hate that she's going through this. I mean, she's such a good kid. She's so nice to everyone. She cares about everyone, and she's walking around in this unbelieveable pain. There's nothing I can do about it. She still won't talk to me." Lorelai shrugged, "She won't tell me what happened."

"I'll tell you what happened, that Dean kid is a jerk and he finally let her know it."

"Wish I could just pinch his head right off." She snapped her fingers, in emphasis.

"I'll help."

"I warned him. I warned him when I first met him. If he hurt her…," Lorelai let out an irritated sigh. "Maybe I could key his car."

"Or, better yet, you can key Taylor's car and tell him Dean did it."

"Yeah," she agreed, "that'll be good."

Luke added to it. "You can key Taylor's car, tell him Dean did it, and also tell him that Dean littered, _and_ walks his dog without a leash."

"He'll run him out of town."

"Good."

Things were silent for a few seconds before Lorelai said, "Alright. Well, I should go. Rory's probably out of school by now and I wanna be home in case she decides to call."

"Coffee's on the house."

Lorelai stood up off the stool as she said, "Oh, thanks." As she turned to leave, she asked, "hey, is that the belt I bought you?"

Luke bent over to look. "Oh, yeah, yeah. The old one broke," he pointed behind him.

"Huh. Lucky, you happened to have a spare."

Once she started to walk away, he called after her. "She'll be home, soon."

Lorelai gave a slight nod as she forced a smile, looking like she was close to tears before turning back around and left the diner.

Luke picked up the coffee pot, placing it back where it belonged. He wasn't sure what he would do if Shelby ever ran away. With how timid the kid was, the kid probably wouldn't even make it through the apartment's door. Even with how small the town was and how everyone knew each other, enough, Shelby was still cautious around everybody.

Once Shelby got home from school, Luke presented her with the bucket of Legos he bought for her. Within two seconds, the colorful brick pieces littered a part of the apartment's floor. He got down with her and tried to build with Shelby. After an hour of silence, Luke had built a simple, square house with a flat roof. Shelby had built a house twice its size and was two stories, with a garage.

"Huh," Luke said, impressed. "That's really good, Shell." He looked at the two houses, comparing the two. "Check this out." Luke started adding onto his house, making his a two-story as well. Plus, a garage. There ended up being only a few pieces left which Shelby used to form a bridge, to link the houses, together.

"So we can visi' eac' o-ter," she explained.

"That would be nice," he smiled.

Luke made sure to keep Shelby on top of keeping her Legos picked up while she wasn't playing with them. Since they were small pieces, some did go missing or got kicked across the room without notice. If someone walked around with no shoes on that usually was when the pieces got found. There were a couple mornings Luke woke up, to head for the bathroom, and his heel came into contact with one. Both times a swear word was heard, waking the girls.

Rachel found it, amusing until her heel came into contact with one.

"Not so funny now, is it?" he said, afterwards as she made her way over to the bed where he was sitting up in.

Rachel looked the spot on her heel over. "Wow, that really does hurts."

"Gonna hurt for a couple days, too."

Shelby came over and climbed onto the bed, tapping her mom's leg.

She looked up from her foot. "Yes, sweetheart?"

Giving her mom a pitiful look, she said, softly, "Sorry."

"About what?"

Shelby pointed at Rachel's foot.

"It's okay, sweetheart. It probably got kicked or something. You don't need to apologize for this. I know you didn't mean to leave it there."

The frown turned into a smile before Shelby crawled beside her dad, getting under the covers. Luke helped by lifting them, covering her up.

Rachel had watched the whole thing. "Shelby, sweetheart," she said.

Shelby looked over at her mom.

"I was thinking, maybe tonight, you could fall asleep in your own bed."

It was Luke who asked, "Why?"

"Well, it's been how long? Three, four months, and Shelby still can't sleep in her own bed? I mean, we're just a few feet away," she pointed a hand towards Shelby's bed.

"I said, we were working on it," he told her.

Rachel shrugged, "It doesn't seem like it, Luke. Shelby's gonna be six in a couple months. I think it's time for her to be able to sleep on her own."

Luke lowered his gaze, looking down at Shelby. His natural paternal instinct was to protect his daughter, to help keep her anxiety from going up.

"We need to teach Shelby how to console herself. We won't always be there to do that for her."

He took in some air through his nostrils, letting it out through his mouth. She was right. Rising, Luke kneeled beside the bed, to look at Shelby, directly. "Kiddo, how about we all sleep in our own beds, tonight? The whole night?"

Shelby stared at her dad, looking like she might start tearing up.

"Your mom and I won't be far away. I can still chase the monsters away that'll try to eat ya," he assured her.

"We can read a story, first," Rachel added, getting her attention. She let Shelby pick one of her library books and read it aloud. Afterwards, Luke stood up, having Shelby follow.

Pulling back her comforter for her, Shelby climbed into bed, letting Luke cover her up again. He moved around the bed to switch on Shelby's nightlight before leaning over to kiss her forehead.

"It's okay if you have an accident, kiddo. It happens. But there's nothing to be afraid of. Nothing's gonna get ya because I won't let that happen. They'll have to get through me, first and we all know nothing can do that," he grinned.

It made Shelby feel a little at ease. She reached up and hugged his neck, kissing Luke on the cheek. Luke hugged and kissed her, back before standing up.

Rachel was standing on the other side of the bed. When Luke stood up, she leaned over to hug their daughter. Shelby hugged her mom, in return. When Rachel kissed her daughter's cheek, Shelby returned it, making both parents smile. "Love you, peanut." Peanut was a nickname Luke noticed Rachel, recently started calling Shelby.

"Love you, too, Mom."

Luke's eyebrows rose when he heard their daughter respond to her mom and looked over at Rachel to see her reaction. A glistening in the corner of her eye was spotted as she smiled.

"Good night. Sweet dreams, peanut." Rachel leaned forward and gave Shelby one last kiss, this time on the forehead.

Luke took another turn, also giving Shelby another kiss. Just before he pulled away, he heard her whisper, softly, "I hope Mom no leave." It froze him there and looked at her. Luke had to force a smile for his daughter. "Me, too, kiddo." A lump had formed in his throat when he said it. Grabbing Pikachu, he passed it to Shelby.

"Pikachu wan's a kiss, good nigh', Dad."

"He does, does he?" Luke gave her a smirk and gave the toy a quick peck on his red-spotted cheek.

Over the rest of the month, Shelby started spending more time with her mom than she did with her dad. Sure, during the night, she wanted him, especially when Shelby woke up from a nightmare. During the day, as she got to know Rachel, Shelby wanted her mom. Whenever Luke picked her up from school, Shelby would run to Rachel or rush upstairs. He wasn't expecting that at all. Hoping, maybe, but not expecting. By the third week of May, Shelby was now speaking short sentences to Rachel.

One night, Luke came upstairs to find both of them in the bathroom. Like he had, Rachel had been including Shelby in with her hobbies, as well, and that included photography. At least someone was spending time with Rachel, though. The feeling Luke had that night hadn't gone away. Having her around was great and all, and he was happy she was in Shelby's life, but he just couldn't get his heart into it. It was too late. His heart had moved on to someone else and Luke wasn't sure how to tell Rachel and even if he could, there was still Shelby to think of. He had tried the best he could. On Saturday nights, they would curl up on the couch and watch TV, usually a movie of Shelby's choosing. The original _Charlotte's Web_ was on, the previous Saturday. After the spider died, Shelby had started crying. Rachel had offered comfort which she took. That was another thing. Before Rachel showed up, it had just been the two of them and Luke had tended to whenever Shelby needed something. Now, he wasn't the only one Shelby could turn to, and frankly, it made the guy a little jealous whether he cared to admit it or not.

So, Luke kept himself busy with other things. If he wasn't working at the diner, Luke started hanging around Lorelai's house, repairing things he deemed needed fixing. To make matters worse, Luke even broke in before Lorelai had gotten home just so he could fix something else. It almost cost him a blow to the face with an umbrella when the two of them scared each other. She made Luke sit and have a little chat about his recent behavior.

"You've almost no free time with all your work at the diner," she began, crossly, "and lately, every spare moment has been spent not with Rachel and Shelby."

"That's not true," he tried to deny.

"Oh? They were looking for you, today, and they didn't know where you were."

Luke quickly stated, "I'm not hiding from them."

She shook her head and gave a slight shrug, "I didn't say you were hiding."

"It sounded like you were implying it," he lied.

"Well, someone's sensitive about the accusation," she mocked him. Luke gave her a hard look, but Lorelai just returned it one of her own.

"I think I'm hiding from them," Luke finally admitted.

"I think you are, too."

"It's just a little weird having her in my place."

"I thought that's what you wanted," Lorelai pointed out.

"It was... _is_. I'm just," Luke shook his head at the table. He let out a sigh and moved his hands from the table to his lap. "It's been just me and Shelby for two/three months, and having only me to depend on and do things with. Now that Rachel's here...she's been going to Rachel and wanting to spend time with her instead of me."

"Of course, Luke," she stated as if it seemed obvious. "That's her mother. Any kid would want to spend time with their mom and get to know her. I'm sure it was the same thing when you brought Shelby, home. Didn't she want to spend a lot of time with you?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"So, now, it's Rachel's turn."

"I don't know. I guess I've just gotten used to Shelby only needing me. Lately, the only time she want me is the middle of the night when she has her bad dreams. During the day, it's Mom this and Mom that. Shelby and I had an agreement to work an hour a day, so she could have an allowance. She kept it up for a few days, then wanted to go help Rachel."

"Luke, Shelby still loves you and you'll always be her dad. Eventually, after a while she'll want to spend time with you, like today. Shelby said, she misses you."

Luke looked up at the woman, at that. "She did?"

Lorelai nodded. "You are the first person she opened up to and probably heard her speak. No one will ever take that place."

"I know." He dropped his gaze at his lap. "It's just not what I thought it would be like having Rachel, back. It's not the fantasy I was toting around all these years, and especially after Shelby came into the picture."

Lorelai had gotten up to fetch a box of cookies from one of the upper cupboards and a drink from the fridge, along with two cups. She turned around from the fridge as she said, "Well, Luke, life is not a fantasy. Maybe you have to lower your expectation bar, a little bit."

"So, you're saying that life is just settling for whatever comes along?"

"Wow," she gasped in surprise, "you think having Rachel is settling?"

"No, I didn't mean that," he corrected. "Rachel's...great and I'm glad Shelby is warming up to her."

"And she's crazy about you," Lorelai added, "and if her worst trait is she's hogging your kid's attention, you have it pretty good."

Luke stared at his lap. He muttered a "yeah," and took a deep breath in.

"You just need to give this situation a fair chance." She softly hit him on the arm.

"I know," he continued to mutter.

Lorelai quickly added, "And that starts with ceasing work on the Winchester mystery house, here."

Luke glanced up long enough to give her a nod before glancing down at his lap. Oh, how he wished he could give her the full truth as to why he had been spending time there, but Luke could only get out the partial truth.

When he got back to the diner, Luke's legs were bombarded by a five-year-old. "Hey, sweetheart," he lifted Shelby up into his arms. "I was told you two were looking for me."

"I do someting wrong?" Shelby whispered, softly, for only him to hear. They really needed to work on her digraph sounds.

"Oh, no, sweetheart. You didn't do anything wrong. I was just fixing some things. It had nothing to do with you, I promise." She nodded at that which Luke gave her a kiss on the cheek."How about working your hour, today? I could use your help."

Shelby gave another nod.

Luke set her down. Grabbing the napkins that were wrapped in paper from the back, he put Shelby to work, restocking each dispenser while him and Rachel waited tables.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Shelby's last day of kindergarten had finally arrived. The little girl had invited Lorelai and Rory, of course, giving them the best puppy dog look she could muster up.

"Of course we'll come, Shelster," Lorelai assured her, over breakfast.

"We wouldn't miss it for anything," Rory added.

It sent Shelby off to school with a great, big happy smile, that morning.

Of course, Luke and Rachel also went. The ceremony was after lunch, but the students didn't have to go to the cafeteria to eat. Darla ordered pizza and brought drinks for everyone, including the parents and families who had come to see the performance they were putting on. The twins' parents sat with Luke's group since Shelby wanted to eat with her friends.

The boys had taken to be quite protective of Shelby while at school. Whenever another kid tried to pick on her for not talking, one or both of them would stick up for her. It was like Shelby had become the president and Ethan and Alan were her secret service or something.

"Hey, Shelby," Ethan was saying as they ate their pizza. "Did you know there are new _Pokemon_ games coming out, this summer?"

She shook her head.

"Yeah," Alan chipped in, just as excited. "It's going to be like the ones we have, now, but with the new Pokemon. I'm gonna choose Cyndaquil!"

"I'm gonna choose Totodile," Ethan replied and turned to Shelby. "Who are you gonna choose, Shelby? Maybe you could choose Chikorita, so we can each try each one, to see how good they are."

Shelby nodded, liking the idea.

Luke smiled at the cooperation she was having. Guess he now knew what to get Shelby for her birthday.

After lunch, Darla had the students exit the classroom and turned on the generic graduation music as they reentered, wearing black graduation caps made out of construction paper. Shelby kept trying to push hers over her eyes. Rachel snapped a few pictures before both her and Lorelai noticed someone tearing up. The moment the music came on and Shelby reentered, Luke's eyes had started to water. The guy had tried to hold it in, but could not contain himself. His little girl was already graduating from kindergarten. Her previous teacher said she would have to repeat the following year. Now, here she was. Shelby had done it. She was moving on to first grade. Before he would know it, it would be high school, then college.

Darla introduced the class as she had done with the play, welcoming the parents and relatives, moving into the first song. The students were standing in three single file rows. Shelby stood in the back, staring at the floor. The paper cap hid her face from view so no one could tell if she was at least mouthing the words.

The students sang songs they learned throughout the school year about the months, days of the week, seasons, colors, shapes, counting, abcs, and even history and science. Each song was written by Darla, too.

After the last song, Darla called over each student, alphabetically, to present them with a laminated paper certificate that said they "graduated" from kindergarten and was moving on to first grade. It was by last name so Shelby was first of three students whose last names started with D. It took a moment to get Shelby to move, who still held her paper cap over her face.

As Shelby took the award and allowed Darla to half hug her, Luke started blubbering like a baby. Rachel had moved up to the front when Shelby's name got called and took a picture of her and her teacher with the certificate held up. They let Shelby return to her spot as Rachel returned to hers. Lorelai had wrapped her arm around Luke, comforting him when she was squeezing in front of them. Luke denied he was crying, stating something had gotten into his eye. It was very obvious he was crying.

Once everyone had their certificates, the students did one last song, saying good-bye to kindergarten and welcoming first grade before Darla dismissed the class.

Shelby rushed over to her dad to show him, her "diploma".

Luke lifted her up and kissed her cheek. "I am so proud of you, kiddo."

"Me, too, peanut," Rachel said, and also reached up to kiss her cheek.

Lorelai had gotten Shelby's attention and started making funny faces with her, getting the kid to do them right back until Rory put an end to it.

"Congratulations, Shelby," Rory told her.

"How about the five of us go out to dinner tonight to celebrate Shelby's big day," Luke suggested. The girls agreed. Later, that evening, they met at the restaurant and had dinner, together.

Shelby ended up, wanting to sit in between Lorelai and Rory, playing Rory at Tic Tac Toe. Rory went easy on her until Shelby started wining, several times and made it, harder, to give Shelby a challenge.

Since Shelby was only speaking softly in their ears, Lorelai decided to turn it into a game. One of them would send a message to the other through Shelby. Depending on if the kid heard right or not, and they could not repeat it, the other would either get it or some crazy message that Shelby thought she heard. A few times, Lorelai gave a crazy one, making sure Shelby heard right, to make it seem like she heard wrong. It was the Gilmore version of the Telephone game.

The other two couldn't help watch.

Finally, Luke had to ask, "What are you three doing?"

"Playing a game," Rory replied just before Shelby gave her the next message. "I have smelly feet?" She gave the little girl, a quizzical look, and looked over at her mom, who snickered. Rory was starting to catch on to her mom's strategy.

The girls decided to let the other two join in. If the phase got too weird for him, Luke would try to back out, stating he was not saying it, even if it was a whisper. Shelby would scoot halfway under the table, to try and give her dad a kick in the leg. It was never hard, she never wanted to hurt him, but it was enough to get Luke to cooperate. The important thing was, he knew Shelby wasn't actually trying to kick him.

While waiting for dessert, Shelby had leaned against Lorelai, eventually dozing off, tired. Luke ended up asking for the dessert, to go. Once he paid, the group left the restaurant with Luke carrying a sleeping Shelby. The kid was still wearing her paper cap, which was now slightly smashed from leaning against Lorelai.

The group parted ways for their vehicles and headed for their homes.

Back at the apartment, Luke laid Shelby down in her bed, removing her shoes and jacket.

"Thanks," he said, after a while of pure silence.

Rachel looked over at him. "For what?" she asked.

"For helping Shelby with her homework and getting her all those books." Luke glanced at the floor. "When her teacher from her old school told me, she was too far behind to be able to move on to first grade, I got worried."

"I barely did anything," she shrugged. "Shelby's a smart kid." Rachel watched their daughter, sleep. "It's also because of you that made it possible."

Luke watched Shelby, as well. "It's hard to believe this is the same kid who wouldn't get out of the car, the day we met."

"You're a great dad, Luke, that's why."

He inaudibly chuckled at the floor.

"I mean it. Shelby talks about you constantly, especially on our walks. She lights up whenever you're mentioned."

"Really?" Luke looked over at Rachel, surprised to hear how much Shelby talks about him.

She gave him a nod. "Yes, really, and she got really sad when you started disappearing." Rachel switched her gaze to the floor, this time.

"It won't happen, anymore. I swear."

"You won't have to." Her voice cracked a little.

Luke noticed, twisting around a little, to face her. "Rachel?"

Rachel rubbed her finger against her eye.

"Rachel?" It was then he noticed her bags were over by the door, packed. Luke immediately looked the other way before he managed to get out, "So, you're leaving, huh?"

"Yeah," she also managed to get out, sniffing back more tears.

Luke stood up from the bed and headed over to the kitchen. "Were you even gonna tell us?" he asked, as calm as he could muster.

"I was waiting until after Shelby's graduation," Rachel admitted. She was leaning forward on her knees.

Luke stopped at the sink. He had hoped there was at least a dish in the sink to wash. Something to do at this moment. He knew this day would come. He knew she'd leave. This was why he didn't want Shelby getting too attached. "So go." Luke stared into the sink, not looking up.

"Don't you even want to know why?"

He lifted his head, looking out the dark window. "I know why," he muttered. It was loud enough, Rachel still heard.

"I don't think you do."

Luke turned around and tried to find something to keep himself busy, moving around the apartment. "It's just like all the other times, Rachel. You're the anywhere but here girl. You're reckless, you're bored." He noticed Shelby hadn't cleaned up her Legos from the day before, so he started picking them up, instead, putting them, back in their bucket. He left the airplane-in-progress, that was sitting on the coffee table. Luke figured that was probably why she didn't want to clean up. "It is what it is," Luke shrugged.

Rachel stood up and moved over to sit on the end of the couch, closer to him. "That's not it."

"Then what is it? What could possibly make you up and abandon your kid, a second time?"

"I'm not abandoning Shelby again."

Luke glanced up from the Legos, "Then what do you call this?" he motioned towards her bags, aggressively.

"I'm still gonna be in our daughter's life. I won't make the same mistake, twice. I promise."

He paused, staring at nothing. Finally, Luke asked, "Why leave, then? Is it some other guy?"

"No."

"What is it, then?!" His head shot up. Luke had tried to mask his anger and keep his voice, down. But the thought of how this was going to affect Shelby, overpowered him. He glared daggers at Rachel.

"It's another girl," she admitted.

His face softened in confusion. "What? Y-you're telling me…"

Rachel closed her eyes, "The other girl isn't for me, Luke. It's for you."

"Okay, now that's crazy," he told her like she had gone nuts.

"Yeah?" she questioned and shook her head. "No."

"You feel you need a different excuse, this time, to mix things up, a little, fine." Luke shoved the lid back on the bucket and set it next to the airplane. "But you are not leaving because of me." He had gotten up and headed for the bathroom.

Rachel hurried after him. "I'm sure you tried, Luke," she tried to point out. "But admit it. Your heart wasn't in it."

Luke turned around to face her, again. "My heart was in it. I was here," he pointed towards the floor. "I didn't leave."

Rachel gave him an _are you kidding me_ look.

"I don't get this."

"Luke," she tried to say before he asked, "what are you talking about, 'another girl?' What other girl?"

Rachel smirked at the floor. She looked up at him and gave Luke a knowing look.

It dawned on the guy. "Oh, Rachel, no. You don't mean…?" She remained quiet. "She and I are just friends. I told you that a thought times."

"No," she shook her head, once. "You told it to me, once, and you could barely get it out then."

Luke tried to say something, anything at all to say she was wrong. He felt like a small animal, cornered. "Okay, this is c-crazy." Luke forced a chuckle. "You got it wrong, here. I-i-it's not… She and I are, uh…"

"It's okay, Luke," she nodded. "I…" Rachel made to say something. In the end, she just said, "This wouldn't be fair to Shelby. We can't force anything if your heart's not in it, Luke and in the end, it's only gonna hurt Shelby, more, and I don't want that. I don't want the special bond you two have to suffer because of it." She looked over in the direction of where Shelby was supposed to be asleep. Luke saw her shoulders, slump and looked over to see Shelby was awake. The expression said she heard it all, or at least a good portion of it.

Rachel was the one to make a move. She walked over to sit on her bed and reached out for her. Shelby flinched, backwards and hugged Pikachu close to her chest, curling into a ball. "I'm not leaving for good, peanut. I promise. Just because it couldn't work out between me and your dad, doesn't mean it can't work between us. I'm not gonna abandon you, again. I promise." Tears were now starting to leak from Shelby's eyes, down both sides of her face. "I thought maybe you and I could take a trip, this summer. Just the two of us. I can show you some of the sights I showed you in the pictures. How does that sound?"

Shelby remained silent. She didn't even lift her head. Eventually, the only movement she made was her arm, outstretching it to grope around her bed until Shelby found her hat and placed it on her head, over her eyes.

Rachel closed her eyes at the bed, hurt. She looked back up. "I'm so sorry, peanut. Really, I am." Her voice cracked. "I'll even get a cell phone, that way we can always get a hold of each other." That right there impressed Luke. Rachel wasn't the cell phone kind of girl. But the kid never looked up. "Can I have a hug, good-bye, peanut? Please?"

Nothing.

A tear drifted down Rachel's cheek which she wiped away and stood up.

"I should go." She made her way back over to Luke to at least hug him. "I'll miss you both." Rachel let go. "I'll check in as soon as I can," she assured him as Rachel made her way over to the door, grabbing her bags.

Luke tried to stop her. "Rachel, come on."

She paused at the door, each bag in one hand. "So, don't wait too long, okay?" Rachel managed to say, looking back at him.

"To, what?" he asked with a shrug.

Rachel gave him another knowing look. "To tell her."

Luke nodded before looking over at Shelby.

Rachel stole one last look at her as well before leaving.

The moment he heard the door, close, Luke's eyes closed, in regret, towards the floor. What had he done? He should have been honest from the start. Now Rachel was gone and Shelby was upset, just as he suspected.

Luke looked back at Shelby, before making his way over, sitting on the bed. He tried to pull Shelby in, to comfort her, but she wasn't having any of it. She aggressively shoved him away and this time, Shelby didn't look sorry for it. She barely glanced at her dad before turning away from him.

"Shell…" he tried to say but stopped. What was he even supposed to say? In the end, he decided to leave her alone, for now. Luke wiped his hand down his face as he stood there, looking away.

Shelby remained upstairs all day while Luke worked. He couldn't even get her to budge when he told her, they were going to go stop by Lorelai's house, to pick up his toolbox. So, he asked Caesar if he could stay an extra hour, stating he would pay him, overtime for it. Luke tried to work up the courage to tell Lorelai, letting her know that Rachel had left. Lorelai gave him her condolences and asked how Shelby was doing.

"Not so good. She won't talk to me, she's back to barely eating and wearing her hat. I even let her back into my bed, but Shelby refused," he explained.

"I'm sure she'll come around, hopefully," Lorelai reassured him. At that moment, someone stuck his head in the front door. It was Max, there to pick Lorelai up for a date, whom Luke remembered seeing at the town meeting, a few nights ago. Luke was a little hostile towards him, stating he was just there to pick up his toolbox because he was a handyman around the place, which Max responded right back, in the same hostile manner.

Once Luke was back in his truck, he let out a breath of air.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Shelby woke up, thirty minutes before Luke's alarm clock went off, whimpering and crying in her sleep. Luke quickly got out of bed and hurried over to wake her.

"Shell, Shell. Hey, it's okay, sweetheart," he told her, softly. Luke sat on the bed, touching a hand to her stomach. "Hey, hey, hey. Sweetheart, wake up." It took a few tries before she bolted awake, her face soaked with tears. He moved his head to look at her, directly. "You okay?"

Shelby panted at nothing. She glanced up at her dad. When he tried to reach out for her shoulder, Shelby flinched away from his touch.

Luke took his hand, back. He still wasn't sure why Shelby was keeping her distance from him when Luke had been honest from the start about the possibility of her mom leaving. Why was she giving him the cold shoulder? Unless… Luke was still wondering how much Shelby had heard from that night, between them, and understood at that. It wasn't like he didn't try to talk about it with her, but Shelby would not give him the time of day.

He leaned a hand on the bed beside him. "I wish you talk to me, kiddo. I know your mom leaving is hard on ya. Let me in. I'm still here and your mom said, she'd call and check in as soon as she can."

Shelby had grabbed onto Pikachu, clutching the toy to her chest as she stared at the bed in front of her. Luke saw her head move, left and right.

"No, what?" he asked, as gentle and patient as he could be.

She bit down on her lip, sucking it in.

Luke rose from the bed, kneeling beside it and folded his hands, leaning forward. "If you're worried any of this is your fault, it isn't. None of it had anything to do with you. I messed up. Even I get scared, sometimes. I should have been honest from the start with your mom. Can you forgive me, Shell?" He looked up into her tear-stained face. A smell had waft across his nose, letting him know Shelby had another accident. Things were quiet as Luke let time past, giving Shelby all the time she needed.

After a few minutes, he reached over to tickle her side. Luke may as well as just tried to pet a junkyard dog. Shelby beat her tiny fists at him, landing a punch on his arm.

Luke took his hand, back and stared at his daughter in utter surprise as she glared at him. He held his hands up in surrender. Finally, he said, "Fine, I'll leave it alone until you're ready." Luke rose to his feet. "Can we at least get ya changed out of those wet pajamas?" To his relief, Shelby at least agreed to change. She climbed out of bed and stripped off her soiled pajamas.

While Shelby washed off in the shower, Luke striped the bed and tossed them into the wash. He had gotten a mattress protector a while ago to help protect against the ongoing bedwetting occurrences, which was easier to clean. It was still only when Shelby would sleep on her own. Whenever she slept in his bed with him, did Shelby stay dry.

Once Shelby was out of the shower, she got dressed in shorts and a _Pokemon_ t-shirt. Rachel had taken her clothes shopping, a few weeks ago and let Shelby pick out what she wanted.

Luke kneeled to her level. "Hey, why don't I fix ya up with some chocolate chip pancakes? How does that sound? Whipped cream and strawberry syrup, all your favorites."

Shelby just walked away, over where he had moved her hat over on the nightstand. Grabbing it, she placed it on, over her eyes.

He couldn't help look away at the floor. Luke looked back up to see Shelby roll onto the mattress. The sound of plastic moving filled the room. Guilt and pain was flooding his heart and mind to no end.

Eventually, Luke had to open the diner, so for now he left Shelby alone, reminding her to come downstairs if she got hungry.

The whole morning, Shelby remained upstairs.

After the seventh check-up, Luke decided to give Madison a call, once the breakfast rush passed.

She picked up on the third ring. " _Child Services. This is Madison Flores."_

"Hi. This is Luke Danes, Shelby Danes' father," he greeted, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder while refreshing the coffee maker.

" _Luke! Hello. How are you and Shelby doing?"_ she greeted, very cheery.

"We're doing alright. Shelby just graduated from kindergarten, a couple days ago."

Madison squealed with delight. "Oh, that is so wonderful! Tell her I said, congratulations."

"I will," Luke smiled. "So, how are you?"

" _Good, good. Working. About to head out to pick up a kid, actually."_

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything," he apologized.

" _No, you're fine. Is there something I can do for you?"_

"Uh, actually. I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about what happened when Shelby's mentor, Bailey, moved to California?"

" _What do you mean?"_ she asked, sounding confused.

"How did she act after Bailey left? You didn't really tell me any details about what happened." Luke finished pouring the coffee grounds into the pot and reattached it into place.

" _Shelby? Well, same as she usually acted, I guess. She hid, barely wanted to eat. Cried a lot. Why?"_

He had placed the lid back on the coffee can and leaned on his hand, now holding the phone in the other. Luke let out a tired sigh. "Her mom reshowed and we tried to make it work for Shelby's sake. But things didn't work out and Rachel left, again. Shelby wouldn't even hug her, good-bye, nor will she let me hug her," he explained.

" _Oh."_ Madison sounded surprised.

"Yeah," he replied, sliding a hand into his back pocket. "Shelby got really attached to her mom. Rachel says she'll still stick around for Shelby. She's supposed to call to check in, soon. I don't think Shelby believes it, though. I don't even know, myself." Luke heard her, sigh, this time. "What?"

" _Bailey said the same thing. Said she'll call all the time."_ Madison paused for a brief moment. " _She never did. Neither one of us heard from her again."_

Luke's eyes closed towards the floor. "Oh, no," he said, softly.

"What?" A voice startled him from behind. He twisted around to see Lorelai sitting there.

" _That had devastated Shelby, the most,"_ Madison went on to say, sadly.

Luke rubbed at his eyes in one hand before thanking Madison for taking the time to talk to him. They hung up once the conversation closed.

"Everything okay?" Lorelai asked, sincerely.

"Yeah. That was Shelby's caseworker. I called to ask how things were when her mentor left, too."

"And?"

He stared back at her, his hands on his sides. "About the same as Rachel leaving."

"Not doing any better, huh?"

"Nope. What's worse is that I couldn't get her to eat breakfast, this morning." Once the coffee was ready, Luke grabbed a cup to pour Lorelai, some.

"Has Rachel called yet?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know what to do. She won't talk to me, at all. She barely looks at me. It's breaking my heart just watching her. What should I do?"

Lorelai gave him a shrug. "How about if I try to talk to her?"

"You think you can get her to talk?" he questioned, hopefulness apparent in his voice.

"Couldn't help to try. I mean, I finally got Rory to tell me what happened between her and Dean."

"Okay." Luke led Lorelai, upstairs. He stayed back and let her go over to where Shelby still laid on her bed. She made her way over and sat down. Shelby's back was to her.

"Hey, sweetheart. You okay? I heard what happened."

Nothing.

Lorelai shared a look with Luke before turning back to Shelby. "You must really miss your mom," she tried some more to get a reaction. "But you know what? Your dad's still here and he loves you, so much." She leaned her hands on the bed. "Plus, you're surrounded by a whole town who cares about you and loves you. We'll always be here for you, sweetheart." She paused to wait and see if Shelby moved.

Luke stood there in hope, holding his hands in his back pockets. Please let Lorelai get through to the kid. At least enough to eat. He swallowed.

"I'm sure you'll see your mom again. I heard she wants to take a trip with you, this summer. That sounds really fun. You can bring back souvenirs and show us pictures of all the things you saw and would do. I'm sure she wouldn't have said that if she was never coming back for you."

He saw Shelby's body move, but she didn't turn around or sit up. Instead, she curled more into a ball. Pikachu was the only one that was heard which Luke could see the ears wiggle.

"I know it hurts, right now, sweetheart and you have every right to be angry. But you can't just not eat. Your dad is very worried about you. We all are. You've made so much progress, it would be a shame to unravel all of it. Life can knock us on our butts. You'd just have to get right back up and show it how tough you are."

Since Shelby had been lying on her side, her hat had come off and laid, upside down, above her head. She finally did sit up, rubbing her eye with her hand.

Lorelai smiled sweetly for her. She tilted her head, to look at the kid. "It'll be okay, Shelster."

Without looking at any of them, Shelby twisted around and grabbed her hat, putting it, back on, over her eyes. With Pikachu, in hand, she slid down from the bed, onto the floor. From there, Shelby scooted underneath the bed.

With Shelby out of sight, Lorelai shared another look with Luke. This time, she gave a sincere, apologetic look. His shoulders dropped.

At that moment, the phone rang, breaking the saddened silent.

Luke went over to the kitchen area to grab the phone off the hook. "This is Luke."

" _Hey, sorry it took me this long."_ It was Rachel.

Luke was surprised but relieved. "No, it's okay. Just glad you called."

Lorelai looked up as if she was listening.

" _How's Shelby?"_

He rubbed the back of his head, over his hat. "Not good, Rach," Luke admitted and dropped his arm limply, letting it, swing, a couple times. "It's like someone pushed the reset button."

There was a brief pause before she said, " _Can I talk to her?"_

"I'll see what I can do," he gave a slight shrug. "I can't get Shelby to talk, and neither can Lorelai." Luke moved over and squatted beside the bed, on Lorelai's side. He hunched over to look underneath where he could see part of the little girl. "Shell, your mom wants to talk to you."

Slowly, Shelby finally turned to face her dad. There was a look of surprise, her eyes wide open. He held out the phone for her. She flipped onto her stomach and army-crawled out from under the bed, getting to her feet. Once standing, Shelby took the phone from him, who let Rachel know, ahead of time.

" _Peanut?"_

There was a hesitance before they heard, "Mom?"

Shelby's eyes filled up as she held the phone to her ear. Her chest was starting to move and she sniffed in. As time went by, the tears spilled out and Shelby was sniffing in, repeatedly. After a few minutes, she finally spoke again.

"I wan' to go wi' you, now."

It felt like someone had punched Luke in the gut. He tried his best to hold it, together. He stole a look over at Lorelai. Shelby regrabbed his attention, holding the phone out to him. He took it and put the phone to his ear, again.

"Hey."

" _I'm sorry to ask this, so sudden, Luke. Would it be okay if Shelby and I start our trip, sooner?"_

"No, not at all. If that's what Shelby wants," he said, towards the phone, glancing up at their daughter.

" _Well, I'm over in Providence, visiting family. I'll drive back up there and pick her up, take her back here for a few days. Do you think she'll be fine with meeting her grandparents?"_

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Just make sure your parents are patient with her."

" _Thanks, Luke."_

"No problem. I'll have her, all packed and ready to go when you get here."

" _Great,"_ Rachel replied, in relief. They said their good-byes and hung up.

Luke turned his attention back towards his daughter. "Your mom will be here this afternoon for ya. You sure this is what you want?"

Shelby nodded.

"See, I told ya she'd call," Lorelai tried to lighten the mood, giving Shelby, a bright smile.

She gave a half smile.

"Remember what I said, though. I want to see pictures and I want to hear all about it when you get back. Got it," she said in a serious tone, but was still light-hearted about it.

Shelby just stared back at the woman.

"Come on, kiddo. Let's just ya packed." Luke rose. He stopped part of the way to ask if she was feeling better enough to eat. To his relief, she nodded. So, Luke led her over to the kitchen to fix her, lunch.

Lorelai continued to sit there, watching the two.

Luke packed his suitcase with Shelby's clothes, folding them neatly, inside. He had gotten more than one mattress protector, so he packed one, just in case. Since she wanted to bring her Legos, Luke had her put what could fit into a plastic container, packing it into her backpack, along with her _Pokemon_ toys and her Gameboy as Luke packed her suitcase with everything she needed. Once the kid was all packed and ready to go, the two headed downstairs so Luke could work the lunch rush. Thankfully, he got Shelby to help out, a little, letting her bring the customers' orders to them.

"Remember, Shell, two hands," he'd remind her before pointing out which table the order was for.

When a table emptied, Luke would have her help him, clear it and restock the napkins. After a while, the lunch rush passed and there was soon only a few. Shelby sat at a table, coloring and snacking on carrots. Luke refreshed the coffee and the small bakery case. He couldn't help keep glancing over at his daughter, though. Finally, he wandered over and curiously watched as she colored in a farm animal coloring book.

He glanced away, taking in a deep breath. His heart started to beat a little faster in anxiousness and his face grew hot with sadness. This was only for the summer, but at this point Luke was full of fear. His mind raced with worry and fear of Shelby not coming back. He remembered what Lorelai had said about keeping the door for Rachel, open, so he had to let Shelby go. He just hoped she would come back.

"Shell," Luke finally said. He glanced back at Shelby, who hadn't looked up. She just kept coloring. Taking another deep breath, Luke sat down next to her and continued. "I just want to remind you, I'll always love you, no matter what. Okay?"

Shelby had stopped coloring. He saw her head, nod, a bit.

"I really am sorry your mom and I couldn't make things, work between us. Just know, Lorelai was right, all of us will always be here for you, including your mom. That'll never change."

Shelby stared at the half colored pig she was coloring, green.

Luke wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head which she didn't push him away this time. "I love you, kiddo."

Shelby finally looked up and motioned for his ear. Luke leaned in so his ear was in range before she whispered, softly, "Love you too, Daddy." His heart just about leaped out of his chest when he heard her call him, daddy. Shelby had never referred to him as daddy, only dad. Luke felt his face grow hot, again and his eyes, moisten. He squeezed her to him, in a tight embrace.

Light reflecting from a car's window flashed through the window of the diner, catching their eye. They looked up to see Rachel had pulled up in her SUV.

Luke reluctantly pulled away and dried his eyes. They stood up from the table. While Shelby packed up her crayons and coloring book, back into her backpack, Luke went over where he had set the suitcase.

The moment Shelby had her backpack on her back, she made a beeline out the door and met Rachel, halfway.

Luke had stopped in the middle of the diner, watching through the glass door as Rachel scooped their daughter up and held her, close. Shelby squeezed her mom's neck. He forced a smile, happy for his little girl. That was what mattered to him. However, it was going to be a long summer for the guy.

The End

To Be Continued...In Season 2…


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The next five weeks were the longest and slowest days Luke had ever lived through. Even though he had always been a loner before Shelby came along, things didn't seem like they used to. He sure did miss the kid so much. It didn't feel right without her, without cartoons playing in the background while he made dinner, or other things around the apartment. Her truck was sitting over on her nightstand, covered in dried dirt and mud, crusted inside the scoop and on the wheels. Some of the _Pokemon_ toys got left behind. One of them, a small plush of a tan, cat-like _Pokemon_ was sitting there on the coffee table while Luke was sitting there on the couch. He noticed it was facing him and Luke, convinced it was mocking him, eventually flicked the plush toy off the table.

It wasn't like Luke never heard from Shelby since she left. Per his request, Rachel called to check in every day. The first couple of days, the two stayed at her parents' house. It was actually supposed to be a whole week but the visit ended up being cut short due to Shelby becoming quite nervous around her grandfather.

"What happened?" Luke had asked when Rachel told him over the phone.

"Well, you know my dad," she replied. "He can be a loving man, but not very affectionate. I guess I should have seen this coming. Things were fine when we got here until dinner rolled around. That's when he started in, trying to make Shelby talk. I reminded him it takes a while before Shelby warms up to someone. In fact, I wasn't expecting a word from her during the first visit with her grandparents, but Dad seems to think if Shelby's capable of speaking, she needs to, stating she's just being stubborn."

"Just being stubborn?" he questioned, irritable. "Did you tell him how fearful and anxious Shelby can get from trying to speak in a new place?"

"Didn't have to. Shelby was shaking so much, and the tears were pouring. I had to take her out of the room. I just got her calmed down right before we called you. It was so heartbreaking to watch, I actually caved and let Shelby sleep with me."

Luke couldn't help grin at that. "What happened to Shelby needing to sleep on her own?" he asked, teasingly.

"Shut up," she said, right back in the same way. They both snickered. After that, Rachel informed him of their plans for the next few weeks. At one point, she had visited the country of Ireland and thought it was so beautiful. Figuring that was the best place to show her daughter, Rachel chose Ireland as their first mother/daughter trip.

The trip was mostly scenery and hiking. They toured through some ruins that King Henry VIII ordered to have the roof be removed and since been falling apart. Shelby really liked the carriage ride and seeing Torc Waterfall, and seeing all Ireland had to offer. Every night, once the girls were back in their hotel and ready for bed, Rachel would call Luke, for Shelby, and let her say good-night and tell him all about their day. Back at her parents' house, Shelby had stopped speaking, altogether, not even to Luke. Once they left and landed in Ireland, in their hotel room, Shelby was able to speak again, telling her dad about their busy, eventful day.

Luke was so glad the kid had perked up after what happened. Though, Shelby was now missing him just as much as he missed her, if not more. She was glad to have her mom still around, but Shelby wished her dad could be there, as well. Luke tried to tell her, he had the diner to run, and that this was a bonding experience for her and her mom. The call still ended sad, every time and each morning, Shelby woke up missing Luke and wanting to call him again. Rachel was supportive at least. She knew how much their daughter loved her dad, and understood how much they were missing each other. By the end of the second week, she offered if Shelby wanted to cut their trip, short, and head back to Stars Hollow. But Shelby wanted to finish the trip, stating she'll miss her, instead.

During the five weeks, Luke would have liked to have Shelby there, considering he found out Lorelai had been proposed to by Max, the guy she was seeing. So that meant he couldn't tell her how he really felt like Rachel told him to. So not only was Luke missing his little girl, so much; he had to swallow all hope of telling Lorelai. As long as she was happy, Luke was okay with it. That's what mattered, most. Luke liked it better when others were happy, even if that meant he wasn't.

Luke tried to be chipper when Lorelai, Rory, and Max stopped in for breakfast, one morning. It ended when he handed the guy, the lunch menu, stating they stopped serving breakfast in an hour. It also didn't help when construction in front of the diner began and Luke almost got into it with Taylor again. That was also when Lorelai had asked if he was coming and if Shelby would be home in time to make it, as well. Luke changed the subject, letting her know, he had phone calls to make before heading back inside. Even with all the calls he made, the traffic light still went up at the unveiling which Luke got into it with Taylor, yet again, and lost, though he'd rather not admit to it. It also included a rant about marriage while Lorelai and Sookie were discussing Lorelai's bachelorette party.

Overall, the five weeks were hard on the guy, moping around and keeping to himself, most of the time, counting down the days until his daughter came home. To take his mind off things during the free time he had, Luke carved out a huppa for Lorelai's wedding and personally delivered it to her.

"Did you make that?"

"Yeah, I had some time since Shelby's still in Ireland with Rachel." He asked for a hand, getting it out of his truck.

Lorelai hurried down the steps and stepped in to help, stating it was beautiful.

"Yeah, well, I saw a picture in a book," Luke finished carefully dragging it off the ramp he used to get the huppa out of his truck, moving around it. "Picture looked better."

Lorelai stared at it in amazement. "It's got carvings. Birds and flowers."

Luke pointed out the goat.

She gasped, "A goat?"

"I don't know what it stands for, but it was in the picture, and you like goats, right?"

"Yeah, goats are good."

"Okay," he shrugged a hand in the air, "so, there you go."

"What on earth inspired you to do this?" Lorelai asked.

"You're getting married. You can't just stand in the hot sun, in the middle of a lawn, that hasn't been mowed in weeks." Luke looked around at her lawn, noticing how tall the grass was. "Guess he doesn't mow."

"No, Max isn't a mower."

"Okay, you needed something, here it is." He offered to mow her lawn, but Lorelai assured him, Little Pete usually mowed their lawn. The two of them moved over to sit on the steps.

"Hey, aren't huppas, Jewish?" she asked.

"Maybe."

"Is it...is it okay that Max and I aren't Jewish?"

Luke shrugged. "It's okay by me."

"No, I mean, to stand under it," Lorelai corrected him. "God won't smite us or anything?"

"I highly doubt it," he assured her. "Plus, God would probably have to get a licence from Taylor, to do any smiting in Stars Hollow, on a weekend, so I'd say, you're safe." Luke went silent for a short moment before he said, "you know, I wasn't putting down Max. He seems like a really good guy."

"He is, and you were putting him down."

"Yeah, well, I didn't mean to."

"Did you mean all those things you said about marriage?" she asked.

Luke looked up at her and shrugged. "What things?"

"You really want me to repeat them to you?"

He dropped his gaze towards the ground, whispering, "No," and shrugged, again. "I guess for some people, marriage, you know," Luke shrugged, a third time, "isn't the worst thing in the world. I mean, it's probably better than being hobbled or something like that." He glanced between the ground and Lorelai.

"And, people can evolve, together, don't you think?"

Luke looked at her. "Maybe."

"Yoko and John Lennon did," she pointed out. "They just got closer and closer as the years went by. At the end, they had the same face."

He added, "It got a little spooky."

"But cool."

"Yeah, they were lucky." Luke let out a silent breath before he said, "I guess if you can find that one person, who's willing to put up with all your crap. Doesn't want to change you, or dress you. Or make you eat French food, then marriage can be alright." He glanced at the ground for a split second. "But that's only if you find that person."

"Yeah," agreed Lorelai, "if you find that person." She stood up.

Luke followed suit.

"No one has ever made me a huppa before."

"Well, you only get married once... Theoretically," he added with a smile.

"Yeah, you only get married once," she replied. "So is Shelby making it, home, by this weekend?"

"Their flight comes in, tomorrow afternoon. Rachel says, Shelby was pretty jet-lag when they got there, so there's a possibility she'll be jet-lag again. But I'll run it by her, see how she feels. If Shelby's up for it," Luke shrugged.

"Okay, well, I'll understand if she's too tired to come." The two finished their conversation before Luke got back in his truck. Lorelai thanked him for the huppa.

Later, that night, Luke couldn't help feel super anxious and happy his little girl was finally coming home. He could barely fall asleep, tossing and turning, over and over. In fact, Luke hardly got any sleep at all. What surprised him was when the Gilmores didn't show for breakfast, but didn't think too much of it, thinking they were just really busy on the wedding.

Their flight didn't land until 3pm, so Rachel's SUV didn't pull up in front of the diner until around six, that evening. Luke was busy with the dinner rush, so he didn't look up until the door was pushed open and Shelby came dashing over to him.

Luke stopped pouring coffee before the customer's cup was full, setting it on the table, and immediately scooped up his little girl, wrapping her in a tight embrace. "I missed you, so much, kiddo." He held a long kiss on her cheek, holding a hand to the back of Shelby's head.

Shelby was gripping her small arms around her dad's neck, as tight as a soon-to-be six-year-old could hold. Rachel had followed inside, carrying Pikachu and Shelby's hat. She was smiling when Luke noticed her. He returned it before turning his attention back to their daughter.

Shortly after, Shelby, willingly, wanted to go to bed, sleeping through the whole night until the sound of Luke's alarm clock woke her. She stirred with Luke smiling at her.

"How long I 'leep for?" she asked.

"A long time. In fact, you slept so long, it's time for you to go off to college," he teased.

"No," Shelby caught on, quick. "I be dead if I 'leep tat long."

Luke chuckled, and lifted his head to kiss her cheek. "I really missed ya, kiddo."

"I missed you, too. I sorry."

He stared at his daughter, confused why she was apologizing. "Sorry for what, Shell?"

"I leave you. I go' sad when Bailey and Mom leave, and ten I leave you. But I came back, toe."

"Yes, you did, and you have nothing to be sorry for. I told you, before, remember? If you wanted to see your mom, I will always leave that door open for you. I'll always be here when you're ready to come home."

Shelby sat up on her arms. "Mom is going to live here, too, a' her own a-par-men', and I can 'tay tear, too when see come home."

He nodded, "I know, she told me after you went to bed, last night."

Shelby pushed herself up onto her legs, sitting back on them. She had gone to bed without changing her clothes, but Luke had to wake her when he had gone to bed and saw she had an accident. He wasn't sure if it was the usual bed-wetting accident or if she was so tired she slept right through and did not wake up. Even when he did wake her, Shelby never fully did, though. Luke had to watch her in the shower and keep her standing while he helped get her changed into her pajamas. While he was swapping the sheets on her bed, Shelby had climbed into his, and fell right back to sleep on his pillow. So Luke just let her be and took the other side of the bed.

All day, Shelby spent time downstairs, in the diner, wanting to be close to her dad as possible. For a few hours, he let her work, but since there were child labor laws, Luke couldn't let Shelby work the full day. So when she wasn't working, Shelby was coloring at the counter.

Lorelai or Rory hadn't come in at all, that day. In fact, the news didn't reach him until the following day when Sookie had dropped by.

"Hey, Luke?" she asked him while he was ringing up Kirk's order.

"Yeah?" he barely glanced at her.

"You've heard the latest news? Kind of sad, Lorelai and Max."

Luke shut the register as he asked, "What about them?"

"The wedding's off."

His head shot straight up at Sookie. "What? What happened?"

"You know, I don't really know," she said. "Kind of sudden." Sookie pointed to her phone that was up to her ear, and whispered that she had Lorelai on the other end,

"Oh, well, tell her, I'm sorry," he replied, sincere. "That's tough."

Sookie passed on the message as Luke walked away. In fact, his mood got even better. Shelby being home, already had lifted his spirits, but now it had skyrocketed through the roof, and decided to give Kirk, another refill, on the house. In fact, everyone in the diner, got one. After he made his rounds, Luke rushed upstairs where Shelby was watching cartoons, and held her face between his hands, kissing her all over, and squeezed her, tight. Shelby didn't like the over affection and tried to pull herself away.

"Dad," she whined.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm just really glad to have you home again." It wasn't exactly a lie. Luke was glad to have Shelby, home. That just wasn't the only reason he was hugging and kissing her.

The rest of the week while Lorelai and Rory were on their trip, Luke couldn't help notice, Shelby did not ask where Lorelai was, or show any signs of missing the woman.

Friday night, Lorelai stopped by after her family dinner. They were talking at the counter about hers and Rory's trip and making plans to start moving forward on their inn plans when Shelby came downstairs, in her pajamas. She slipped over to her dad's leg, trying not to draw attention to herself. Luke heard her on the stairs, so he and Lorelai saw the kid come over.

Lorelai spoke first. "Hey, Shelby. Back from Ireland, I see," she greeted.

Shelby did not make eye contact, slipping her hat on her head.

Lorelai and Luke exchanged looks between each other.

Luke felt her hands grip onto his pants leg as she looked the other way. After a moment, Shelby started back up the stairs, without a word.

"What was all that about?" Lorelai asked when they heard the door to the apartment, shut.

"I...dont know." There was a hunch, though.

Shelby was still awake when Luke eventually came upstairs. She was sitting, cross-legged on her bed, reading a book Rachel had gotten her in Ireland, from a book store. Luke came over and stood at the foot of her bed, placing his hands on his sides.

"Was there something you wanted, earlier, when you came downstairs?"

Shelby shook her head, staring at the page she was on.

"Are you sure?" he made sure.

She muttered something, but Luke couldn't hear, clearly.

"I can't hear you, Shell." He leaned forward on his hands to move closer.

"Water," she muttered.

"You want a glass of water?"

Shelby nodded her head.

Luke went over to the kitchen area and got Shelby, a glass of water, bringing it back to her. As he handed over the glass of water, he lowered himself onto the bed. Shelby drank down the water without stopping and handed it back to her dad, drying her upper lip on the back of her hand. He took the glass from her.

"Can I ask you something, kiddo?"

She looked up at him. "What?"

"How come you were ignoring Lorelai?"

Shelby looked elsewhere, holding onto her toes.

"You're not in trouble, kiddo. I just want to know," he assured her. "You love Lorelai."

Shelby just shrugged, a little.

The night Rachel left came to mind, remembering Shelby waking up during their argument. Luke had realized it may have been when he raised his voice and snapped at Rachel. The two of them still hadn't been able to talk about what happened that night.

"Are you upset with her? With Lorelai?"

Shelby didn't respond, but her eyes kept looking elsewhere.

"I know we haven't talked about why your mom left, Shell. You can ask me, anything, you know that right?"

She didn't answer, not at first. Eventually, she gave a slight nod.

"I'm sure you have a ton of questions." Luke said as he leaned on his knee. "If you want to talk about it, I'm right here."

"Is…" Shelby started to say, but her mouth closed.

"Is, what, kiddo?" he gently urged her to continue.

"Mom…," she chewed on her lower lip.

Luke decided to stand, just briefly, to move over and sit beside his daughter, wrapping an arm around her. "What's on your mind, kiddo?" He kept his voice, soft and gentle, as Luke encouraged Shelby to speak.

Shelby leaned against him. "Mom lef' because of a girl," she finally was able to say. "Why? Is...is i' Lor-lai?"

Luke hesitated. "Yes," he said, after a moment.

Tears filled her eyes. Shelby looked away before getting onto her hands and knees, facing the opposite direction, and crawled over to her pillow. She dropped down and hugged it to her.

Luke twisted the other way to look at her. "Lorelai didn't mean to do it, I'm sure. She didn't even know she was doing it," he tried to tell her. But Luke could see her little heart wasn't seeing things that way.

"I wan' Mom here to be a family." A tear drifted down her nose.

Luke moved forward, placing a gentle hand on her side. "It doesn't always work out that way, kiddo. I'm very sorry. Really sorry, Shell. We can still be a family, just not here, together. Your mom will be here for your birthday, and I'm sure she'll come for holidays, like Christmas."

Shelby turned her head and silently cried into her pillow.

"I'm sorry, Shell. I can't say that enough." His heart broke watching his little girl. At least Shelby sat up and grabbed onto him, so it showed him, she wasn't upset with him. Luke could feel the tears fall onto his neck as Shelby cried into the crook of it, squeezing him, tight. He held onto her, rubbing a hand, up and down her back. This had to be one of the hardest parts of parenthood.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

After Shelby had her bath and got ready for bed, Luke read to her which Shelby insisted on turning the pages for him. It had been a few days since the kid had been home and the small apartment was back to the normalcy he had grown to love. Shelby held her head against him as she listened to the story. Luke kept an arm around her, leaning up against the headboard of his bed, the pillow propped up behind him. Eventually, like all stories, it ended and Luke closed the book.

Luke set the book on his nightstand. "You ready to go to sleep?" he asked.

The kid fought back a yawn.

He smirked, "I'll take that as a yes."

"I no tired," she tried to deny.

"Oh, I'm sure you're not." Luke chuckled a little. So he decided since her birthday was just around the corner, this might be the perfect time to start thinking what they wanted to do. He remembered his sister always wanting to have sleepovers with her friends when they were kids and he had been to a lot of his nephew's birthdays when he was Shelby's age, so he had somewhat of an idea of how a kid's birthday party went, but having to do it, himself, Luke wasn't sure where to start. "So… your birthday's a couple weeks from now."

"I' is?" she asked, as if in disbelief.

He nodded, once. "Yup. You're gonna be, what? Sixty?"

"No, Daddy," she shook her head with a smile.

"Oh," Luke smiled at her. "How old then?"

Shelby held up six fingers with both hands, "Six."

Luke raised his eyebrows at that. "Six, huh? That sounds like a great age, and if you're turning six, we're gonna have to throw a big party to celebrate. How does that sound?"

Her eyes grew wide at the mention of a party. "I ge' to have a par-ty?" she asked in awe.

"Well, sure. Didn't you have a party before?"

Shelby shook her head. "When I turned five, I moved to a different home. Maddi and I wen' to ea' and she go' me a presen', but ta' was i'," she shrugged at the last part.

Luke felt his heart break at the thought of his kid not having a party for her birthday. Before his mother passed, she made sure both of her kids had a party to celebrate the day they were born. Afterwards, since he was getting older, Luke never really cared, but Liz still did, and Rory still had them, so he figured it was important for girls.

"Well, this year's gonna be different," he assured her. "How about we have a party, downstairs, in the diner? We can invite Ethan and Alan, if you want."

Shelby grew even more excited. "Can we have a _Pokemon_ par-ty?" she asked.

"Sure we can. It's your party."

The kid cheered, happily. "Can Mom come?"

"Of course, and maybe I can get your aunt and cousin to come so you can finally meet them."

"I want Rory to come, too."

Luke raised his eyebrows again. "Yeah, I'm sure Rory will come. You know her mom will probably want to come."

The excitement left her face which turned to a frown. "Do she have to come?"

"You know those two are inseparable."

Shelby looked away.

Luke gave her upper arm a gentle rub. Things were quiet afterwards so he decided to call it a night.

The next morning, once the six am crowd thinned out, Rachel stopped by for coffee before she started her apartment search.

"So Shelby and I were making birthday plans, last night," he informed her once Luke gave her, her coffee.

"Really?" Rachel replied, very interested to hear what their daughter wanted to do for her birthday.

"Since she never had a party before, I told her I'd give her one right here in the diner. She wants a _Pokemon_ party."

Rachel nodded in return, "A _Pokemon_ party? That sounds fun." She looked around the diner. "Always wondered what it would be like with Pikachu hanging around here."

Luke shrugged. "If that's what Shelby wants. It's her party."

"That sounds wonderful, Luke," she assured him. "You want me to look and see if they have _Pokemon_ party decorations?"

"That'll be great. Thanks." A customer had walked over to pay for their meal. Luke sidestepped over to the register, to ring them, up. "I thought I'd try and get my sister to come so Shelby can meet her and her cousin." The two made small talk about his side of the family, and Rachel stated she'll try and invite her parents. At least her mother, anyway. She'll have to talk some sense in her own father, to behave himself around his granddaughter. The two discussed who else to invite when the subject of Lorelai came up and Shelby not speaking to her.

Rachel dropped her eyes to the floor when she heard. "Guess it was a bad idea to discuss that in the same room, even with Shelby asleep."

Luke leaned on the counter, staring at it. "Yeah, guess so."

"I never meant for this to happen," she shook her head. "I know how much Shelby loves Lorelai. In fact…" she snickered at the floor, shaking her head.

Luke watched the woman with curiosity. "What?"

"I guess you can say I was," Rachel lifted her head to look at him, "I was a little jealous."

His eyebrows rose at the sound of that in surprise. "You were jealous of Lorelai?"

She shrugged. "She's such a great mom to her own kid, and she's so awesome with Shelby. I was even afraid Shelby would prefer her over me, and not have anything to do with me. That's what helped me step away," Rachel shrugged, "I thought Shelby would be okay, and when she pushed me away and wouldn't even hug me goodbye. I thought for sure I had lost her."

"Rachel, you gotta remember, Shelby had gained a close relationship with someone she thought was a friend. In her mind, she probably thought it would be the closest to a mom she would get. Then, all of a sudden, the woman leaves and Shelby never hears from her again. Then you return and it happens all over again. That would be devastating for anybody, but even more so for a little kid like Shelby. And to hear it was because of someone else she also liked doesn't make things any better."

Rachel looked away. "Maybe it was a bad idea to leave. Maybe we ended things too soon," she shrugged. Her mouth opened as if to say something more, but no words came. Instead, Rachel slowly just shook her head. She looked at him. "I really am sorry, Luke. For everything."

"I know. Me, too. But you were right. In the end, we would have dragged things out and may have even made things worse. I just wish we didn't have to put Shelby through it."

"Maybe we should sit down with Shelby, together, and talk to her about it," Rachel suggested.

Luke considered on that statement and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

"How about I swing by, this afternoon, between the lunch and dinner rush?"

"Sounds good."

Alright then. I'll see you this afternoon." Rachel turned to leave.

"Good luck on the apartment search," he told her.

She smiled before fully turning around and heading for the door. On her way out, Rachel ran into Lorelai and Rory coming in. They exchanged cheerful greetings between each other and Luke caught word of Lorelai offering their condolences. It was relieving to hear Rachel not say why, when he hadn't mentioned the reason to Lorelai. Rachel returned the gesture about the wedding being called off, which Lorelai thanked her for.

Shortly after, Rachel left and the girls headed for their table.

Luke came over to pour their coffee. "The usual?" It wasn't really a question. He knew the answer already.

It was Rory who answered, "Yes, please." Just as he finished pouring their coffee, she added, "so, how's Shelby doing?"

"She's doing good. The jet-lag is all passed, by now."

"What about with you and Rachel? How's she doing regarding that?" Lorelai asked with great concern for the kid.

Luke let out a breath of air. "Still not totally grasping it, but that's understandable, I guess."

"That's gotta be hard on her," said Rory, sympathetically.

"At least Rachel is gonna be nearby, it seems," Lorelai pointed out in the same manner as her daughter.

"Shelby's not seeing it that way," said Luke. "I did tell her this might happen."

Lorelai shrugged. "Even with warning, stuff like this can still be hard on anyone."

Rory added, "I'm sure Shelby was hoping things could be different, this time," she said, receiving a sympathetic look from her mom.

Luke watched the older kid. Realization sunk in that Rory probably knew what Shelby was feeling and going through and knowing Shelby still liked her, meant maybe Rory could help him and Rachel help Shelby. He didn't bring up the birthday party to Rory though. At least, not yet. Luke hoped there might still be a chance to invite them both after the three sit down and talk about things.

Later, between rushes when Luke had time to take a break, Rachel stopped by like planned. He had informed Shelby, whenever he came up to check on her. When Rachel walked into the apartment, Shelby tore herself from her toys and dashed over to her mom.

Rachel lifted the little girl into her arms. "Hey, peanut. I missed you."

"I missed you, more, Mom," said Shelby.

The two squeezed the other, in a tight embrace. Once they got the hugs out of the way, Rachel set Shelby on her feet. Her and Luke led the kid over to the edge of Shelby's bed where they sat down on either side of her.

"Shelby, we thought maybe it would be a good idea to talk, you know, about what happened between me and your dad," Rachel began.

"You lef' because of Lor-lai," she replied.

"Yes, that's part of it, but I didn't mean for you to be upset with her. I know Lorelai wasn't trying to get between me and your dad."

"I wan' you to live here so we can be a family."

Rachel ran a gentle hand through their daughter's messy hair. Since Luke first brought Shelby, home, it had grown out a little and the guy wasn't exactly an expert on doing hair though Rachel didn't really know much than he did. "We can still be a family, peanut, always, even if I'm not here."

But Shelby shook her head, repeatedly.

"I'm sorry this is hard for you to understand."

Luke finally stepped in, leaning his arms on his knees towards Shelby. "Your mom and I tried to make it work between us, for you, Shell," he assured her. "We really did. But we just couldn't. Sometimes, things aren't meant to be, no matter how hard we may try."

Shelby looked over at her dad. "How come?" she asked with a puzzled look.

"Peanut," Rachel slid off the bed and kneeled on the floor, in front of Shelby. "Before you were born, I...I had hurt your dad, many times. I just up and left."

"Bu' you came back," Shelby pointed out, "and you said you were sorry, righ'?"

"Yes," Rachel nodded, "but, that doesn't always fix the problem."

Shelby also gave her mom, a puzzled look.

"It's good to say you're sorry, but sometimes people grow apart and sometimes move on."

Luke had been staring at the floor, listening. He hated having to put Shelby through all of this. It was the most heart-wrenching thing he had ever experienced. It would be a lot more easier without a kid involved, but that wasn't the case. Luke and Rachel will always share at least one thing and that was their daughter. This was why he didn't want to take the risk in the first place, now here they were, and just as he thought, Shelby wasn't taking it, well.

"Will…" Shelby started to say, but lost her voice.

"Will, what, peanut?" Rachel gently urged her to continue, holding a comforting hand on Shelby's knee.

Shelby stared at her lap as she rubbed her hand in the other. Rachel rubbed the lower part of Shelby's knee with her thumb.

"You can ask us anything you want. In fact, you can say whatever is on your mind, whether you're angry or sad. You can even scream at us if you want to. Just say something."

Luke looked over at their daughter. "Your mom's right, kiddo," he backed Rachel, up.

Shelby reached up and rubbed at her eye with the palm of her hand. "Will i'...Will i'...?"

Luke ran his hand a hand along her hair, this time, stopping on the back of her head.

"Will it...happen to me?" she finally managed to ask.

"Will what happen to you?" he asked.

Shelby sucked in her lower lip. She looked up at her mom. "You no love me anymore like Dad?"

"No, peanut," Rachel shook her head, moving closer to Shelby. "I will never stop loving you."

"You did when I was born."

"No, even then I loved you. I told you before, it had nothing to do with you. In fact, it was the hardest decision I ever had to make, giving you up." Rachel took her hand in hers. "I realize now I made a bad one, especially when I didn't even tell your dad about you. Sometimes, I get scared, too and being a mom scared me, because I wasn't sure if I could. The day you were born and I held you for the first time, I knew I loved you, but I had thought someone who knew more about being a mom than I did, could take better care of you."

Things were quiet for a moment while they sat there, looking at Shelby. Shelby stared back at her mom.

"I made some mistakes in my life," she continued. "Mistakes I never realized would bring us to this point. I don't blame your dad, peanut, nor do I blame Lorelai. She was there for him when I should have been, and has even been there for you, I noticed. I don't want you to be upset with her, okay? It wasn't her fault what happened."

"She was even trying to help me and your mom." Luke noticed Shelby's chest was starting to heave, in and out. So he reached a hand behind her and rubbed her back in soothing motions. "It's okay, kiddo," he assured her.

A tear escaped her eye.

"I warned you something like this might happen though."

She looked up at him. "I was praying I could make Mom 'tay." With those words out, more tears followed, and Shelby dropped her head, downward. At the sight of their daughter breaking down, Rachel had a hard time keeping it, together and wrapped the kid in her arms as her own tears fell.

"That wasn't your job to make me stay, peanut. Your job's to be the kid," she managed to say between sniffs. "No matter what, I'll always come back for you, I promise. Even with my job, I'll come back."

Shelby held onto her mom.

"I'll always love you, peanut. No matter what."

Luke sat there, hoping Shelby was understanding a little bit. It wasn't like he wanted everything said and done, and everything will be fine from here on out. That wasn't realistic in his mind. One doesn't just get over it, especially a kid. Luke did hope things between Shelby and Lorelai could get better at least.

Rachel released Shelby. "Are you okay, peanut? Anything else you want to ask us? Or tell us?" They gave her some thinking time, which she added, "whatever is on your mind."

"Will…," she paused to take a breath, "you ever try again?"

Luke exchanged a look with Rachel.

It was Rachel who answered, "No, peanut, probably not."

Her eyes watered some more as tears continued to fall.

"I still care for your dad though, and want him to be happy, even if I can't make him happy," she tried to point out.

"Yeah, same here," Luke added. "I want your mom to be happy even if I can't."

Shelby's chest was heaving once more. This time, when Luke and Rachel tried to comfort her, she knocked their hands away. Shelby got up onto her hands and knees, to crawl over to the head of the bed. Turning on the radio, Shelby started her Billy Gilman CD, switching to the _What's Forever For_ song.

Luke ran his face in his hands, wishing he could undo all the pain for his little girl. Eventually, they left Shelby alone, leaving the apartment. Once the two were out in the hall, Rachel turned to face him.

It was Luke who spoke first. "Maybe you should come back. I mean…"

"Luke," she interrupted him, "we can't get back together just because Shelby's having a hard time with it. As much as I would like that, there wouldn't be anything there. Not when your heart's with someone else."

He glanced over his shoulder at the door that still had his father's name on the glass. "Truth is, I really wanted this, but after you left and after…" Luke stopped himself before his heart admitted completely out loud.

"It'll get better," Rachel assured him, and most likely herself, as well. "Maybe not today, maybe not anytime soon. Someday."

He looked at her and nodded.

Luke gave Shelby an hour before he came back up, to see how she was doing. Billy was still playing on the radio, but a different song. In fact, the song that was playing when he came in was the _Oklahoma_ one, about the kid meeting his father.

When he leaned over her, Luke noticed Shelby had fallen asleep. Her eyes looked puffy from crying, even while closed. Grabbing a blanket from his bed, he covered Shelby with it, leaning over afterwards, to kiss the side of her forehead. Luke then sat down on the edge, facing away from her. His arms leaned on his legs as the song played and the last six months ran through his mind.

To think it all started that day with a phone call. A phone call that brought the news he was a dad. It had been a rocky road, and just when they hit smooth landing, they hit another one.

Luke took a deep breath in, letting it out. He couldn't help wonder if his own father had tough days similar to this, when the final chorus played. It was Shelby's favorite song and was, slowly, growing on him, as well.

Unfortunately, the talk barely helped. Shelby still remained silent around Lorelai. Thankfully, anger never returned towards her parents, but sadness often reappeared, a lot of the time. Her birthday drew near and still nothing rekindled between the two. Lorelai did notice something had to do with her when it was Shelby who invited Rory to her party and not her. Lorelai even tried lighthearted humor.

"Shelby," she shrugged, pretending to be hurt. "What about me? Can't I come to your party?"

Shelby just turned her baseball cap around and hid her eyes. The kid then turned around and headed back upstairs.

When she was gone, Luke tried to assure her, he was trying to get Shelby to change her mind. Out of all the things the kid had to inherit from him, it had to be his stubbornness.

The big day had finally arrived and still no dice. The least Lorelai could still do was put her name on the gift even if Lorelai couldn't be there to see her open it. At least Lorelai was able to see the diner get decorated in _Pokemon_ party apparel and tease Luke about it during breakfast.

Her party was the Saturday after the Fourth of July, which Lorelai and Rory, along with Dean, had joined them and Rachel during the town's Fourth of July picnic celebration, ending with a fireworks show. Shelby spent the whole show atop Luke's shoulders.

"Look at that one, Shelby," Lorelai had tried to point out a really big firework explosion that lit up the sky. The kid paid her no mind.

On the morning of her party, Shelby came downstairs to the diner once it was cleared of most of the people, wearing her favorite _Pokemon_ shirt. When it got close to the start time of the party, Luke closed the diner, but let the customers who was still eating, finish. Both Gilmore girls and Luke tried to encourage to let Lorelai stay for the party. It took a lot, too. It was Rory who got the accomplishment in the end and Shelby finally agreed to let Lorelai stay. Besides, once the twins arrived, the adults never saw the kid again until Luke had to pull her away when Liz had arrived.

"Sorry, Luke," she told her brother. "I tried to get Jess to come, but he said he had other plans than a kid's birthday party."

"It's okay, Liz," he assured her.

"So my big brother's a daddy, now," she changed the subject, perking up the conversation. "Where is the little one?"

Luke looked around for Shelby, not seeing her. He spotted Rachel, who was talking with the twins' mom and Lorelai. "Rachel, you seen Shelby?"

"Last I seen, she was playing with the boys."

When Liz heard her niece was playing with boys, she smiled. "Oh, my niece is already liking the boys, I see."

"It's nothing like that. Shelby will play with anyone who's into _Pokemon_ ," he circled his finger around at the decorations.

Liz looked around the diner. Since Jess was way past the age of cartoons, she was unfamiliar with _Pokemon_. "Um, okay?"

"Don't worry. I've seen quite a handful of the cartoon and I'm still trying to figure it out, myself. Oh, and there's a video game of it, too," he quickly added.

Rachel had looked around for Shelby while Luke was talking to his sister, finding the kids sitting behind the counter. All three kids had their Gameboy Colors out, taking turns trading and battling each other.

"Peanut," she had grabbed Shelby's attention. It took a few tries to peel it from the game. "Your dad's looking for you, to introduce you to your aunt."

"We're in the middle of a battle," Alan pointed out for Shelby.

"Alan," his mother warned with a stern look.

"But we are," he tried to say.

"Shell," Luke called, after overhearing everything. "Finish the battle and come here, please."

"Battle? Are they fighting back there?" Liz asked.

"It's part of the game. Pokemon battle each other, I guess to get stronger and turn into bigger monsters," he explained. Luke then went on to explain the concept of _Pokemon_ to the best of his knowledge until Shelby finally made her way over, cautious of the stranger.

Liz noticed, first. "Hey, cutie. Are you Shelby?" The kid bolted forward, but to hide behind Luke's legs. He had already brought Liz, up to speed, over the phone. So far, the hat didn't get turned around. Luke did ask of Shelby if she could refrain from doing so, since her guests would be coming to see her. For the most part, Shelby did know everyone there. Luke had invited Miss Patty, Babette and Morey, and even Kirk came with a few others.

Luke smiled around his legs. "It's okay, Shell. This is your Aunt Liz, my sister."

Liz leaned forward, placing her hands on her knees to be eye level with the kid. "It's nice to finally meet you, Shelby." She smiled when Shelby peeked around her dad's leg at the woman. Liz stood up as she said, "Oh, Luke, she looks so much like you."

"I know she does." Everyone who ever meets Shelby always has the same thing to say. Yet, strangely, Luke hasn't gotten tired of hearing it.

Since it was summer and summer usually meant grilling, Luke served hamburgers and hotdogs for the party, depending who preferred what. He couldn't help smile to himself when he kept overhearing some of the guests comment on how they never thought to be served in that diner on cartoon paper plates.

"It looks like I'm eating ranch dip out of Pikachu's mouth," Lorelai was telling Rory and Sookie, as she munched on potato chips.

When Luke emerged from the kitchen once everyone had gotten their food, Rachel stopped him and nodded over to the other side of the diner. He looked in that direction to see Shelby sitting with Rory, talking. Well, Rory was doing the talking, but Shelby was listening.

Rachel exchanged a look with him, with a smile. They knew exactly what the topic of the conversation was and Luke hoped it would help. At least, a little.

As the guests finished eating and were chatting with each other, Luke headed back into the kitchen to grab the cake from the fridge. Sookie had offered to make it which meant it turned out well made. The cake was vanilla with white frosting and colorful sprinkles as Shelby requested. On top, it read, _Happy Birthday, Shelby_ and had a plastic cake figurine of Pikachu. Sookie told Luke she had tried to do Pikachu in frosting as best as she could, using a picture as a guide, but it didn't turn out to her liking and redid the whole cake. So she just sent Jackson to the store to buy the cake figurine instead.

Rachel had followed him and helped light all six candles he lined along the cake. As they returned, they started the choir of _Happy Birthday_ , getting everyone to join in. When Luke went separate ways from Rachel, he set it on the counter as she spotted Shelby, who was climbing up onto one of the stools. Once they finished singing, Shelby made a wish in her head and blew out the candles, sending out some spit along the way. That part of the cake they left, untouched as Luke cut it into pieces, passing each one to Rachel, who scooped out the store-bought tub of Neapolitan ice cream, passing it to Lorelai, who passed the plates to the other guests.

Following cake and ice cream, they went into presents. With Shelby sitting on the counter, facing everyone, she opened her first one from the twins. It was somewhat long and big holding it on her lap as Shelby ripped into the wrapping paper.

Luke sat on the stool beside her, catching the wrapping paper she tossed away, smashing it into a ball, while Rachel stood on the other side. "What the heck is that?" he questioned once all the paper was off.

"It's a Super Soaker," Ethan exclaimed from where the boys were standing, front and center, to get the best view. "Alan and I have ones, too. After the party, we can go to the park and play war. Want to, Shelby?"

Shelby nodded, excited and held a thumb's up out to the boys. That was the designated hand signal Rachel had come up with, for Shelby to tell someone thank-you when Shelby opened their gift.

"Alright!" both boys replied, happily.

Luke had taken the Super Soaker and was looking it over, reading the back. "So, it's a water gun?" Times sure have changed since he was a kid. Luke remembered water guns being simple pistols that squirted small spurts of water.

"Yep," Ethan replied. "We can soak each other."

Shelby had moved on, grabbing another gift and tore into that. Rachel stopped her, to read the card, first, to see who it was from. This one was from Sookie and Jackson. Once they read the card, Shelby was able to continue ripping off the paper, which Luke caught just in time, while holding the Super Soaker on his leg. This time it was another tub of Legos. She couldn't help smile seeing more Legos which meant more pieces to build with, and gave the couple, a thumb's up.

"You're welcome, sweetie," said Sookie.

Next, Shelby opened Babette and Morey's gift, reading the card, first. Theirs was inside a gift bag full of nice shirts and matching pants, along with a stuffed animal of a kitten. Shelby really liked the kitten, hugging it once she pulled it out, thanking the two. Luke was refolding the clothes, setting them on the counter since Shelby just passed each one to him, not really caring for them.

The next one was Lorelai and Rory, that were individually wrapped in tissue paper, inside a large birthday themed bag. It was mostly back-to-school supplies, all _Pokemon_ themed, along with a matching T-shirt and a pair of shorts, and new pajamas. There was a packaged figurine of a baby, blue crocodile that stood on two legs and could squirt water out of its large mouth.

"I picked out the toy," Rory raised her hand, a little, in front of her. "I thought it was kind of cute."

Alan asked to see the toy. "Cool, you got Totodile," he said.

"Ah!" Lorelai pointed at her. "I told you that's how you pronounce it."

"It clearly says on the front, To-to-dile, not toe-toe-dile," Rory continued to argue about it.

"Yes, but it has the name Toto in it, like the dog from _Wizard of Oz_ ," she added.

"Whatever." The debate ended there, admitting defeat.

The next one was from Liz and, technically Jess, but Luke knew she had just signed his name. Shelby looked inside the bag, a frown appearing on her face.

"I know you said to get something I would have gotten for Jess when he was Shelby's age, but I had always wanted to shop for a little girl and I didn't think you were serious," Liz admitted.

Shelby didn't even pull anything out. She tried to go for the next gift.

"Come on, sugar," Babette called out. "Let's at least see what you got."

Rachel reached over to look inside, showing Luke. It was everything a six-year-old little girl would want, from a princess outfit to a Barbie doll, along with cute, black dress shoes and matching dress.

Luke let out a sigh under his breath. His sister never was one to listen. Even Lorelai knew it was the opposite from what Shelby liked. The kid was a good sport and gave her aunt, a thumb's up, anyway.

Shelby had found a small wrapped gift sitting there, picking it up. It didn't have a name on it, but Dean had claimed it, who had come with Rory. She ripped off the wrapping paper to reveal a deck of _Pokemon_ cards. It made her smile again.

Rachel's was next. "To a wonderful daughter like you," she read the card aloud to Shelby and opened it, to continue reading. "Peanut, you mean more to me than you'll ever know. I said I made many mistakes in my life, but you were never one of them. I am so proud of the accomplishments you have already made and of you. Thank you for allowing me back into your life despite everything. I'll love you always. Love, Mom."

Shelby hugged her mom around the neck before she asked if she could open the gift. It had slid off during the hug, but Luke managed to catch it and handed the gift back to her when Rachel gave her the go ahead. Shelby took it and ripped off the wrapping paper. It was the Yellow Edition to the video game Shelby already had since the newer games weren't out yet.

"Thank you, Mom," she whispered to Rachel as Shelby hugged her, once again.

"You're welcome, peanut."

Shelby also opened her grandparents' gift. They gave their granddaughter, an Etch o'Sketch, and a Tinkertoy construction set, toys Luke never knew they still made, much less sold.

"What do you say, Shelby?" her grandfather asked of her.

She held a thumb's up.

"I can't hear you," he said.

"Dad," Rachel reminded her father as Shelby started inching towards Luke.

"I don't understand why you let her get away with not speaking. It's plain rude."

"Dad, Luke and I know what we're doing and we're not going to have this discussion, right now. Besides, you promised to behave." From then on, they ignored him for now and continued. Luke had been rubbing her leg, to ease the kid's anxiety before it skyrocketed.

The final gift was the biggest. In fact, it was so big, Shelby couldn't hold it on her lap. It was too heavy for her. This one was from Ms Patty. When Shelby had ripped off a large piece, a smaller gift that had been sitting on top, fell, on the other side.

Luke reached back to grab it.

"Open that last, dear," Ms Patty pointed out. "It goes with the bigger one."

"Okay." Luke looked from the smaller gift that seemed to be a CD or something, to the bigger one that Shelby continued to open. He had started using a trash bag for all of the trash, catching whatever Shelby dropped and sticking it inside. "Is that a stereo?" he questioned when she had most of the wrapping paper off.

"No, dear, it's a karaoke machine you hook up to the TV," she explained. "I figured since Shelby likes to sing, but is too shy, what better way to help her come out of her shell?"

"Oh, Shelby is so bringing that over to our house," said Lorelai, already in love with the gift.

Shelby looked at the thing with a puzzled look, not understanding what it was. Rachel had noticed and explained it to her where Shelby could understand. After her dad handed the smaller gift to her, she ripped off the wrapping paper. The smaller one was indeed a CD that Shelby could play on the karaoke machine, which she thanked the woman for.

"You're welcome, dear. You like it?"

Shelby nodded her head.

"You like to sing, Shelby?" Alan asked.

"Yeah, you like to sing, Shelby?" Ethan also asked, repeating his brother.

She nodded at the boys.

"Oh," they replied. "Want to go play with the Super Soakers, now?"

"Not right now, boys," Luke told them." He then stood up and headed into the back, telling Shelby that he would be right back. He returned shortly with a brand new kid-sized, two-wheeler, pushing it around to the front of the counter. "Happy birthday, kiddo."

Excited, Shelby scooted over to the stool her dad had been sitting on, placing her foot on it. Before she could fall, Rachel lifted Shelby down, onto her feet. The second her feet hit the floor, she dashed over to the bike, grabbing onto the other handle bar. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at the bike. Just as quick, she hurried around it and hugged her dad around the leg.

He smiled, holding a hand to the back of her head. "I figured since you didn't have one, you'd like a bike of your own." Shelby let go and already tried taking the bike from him, to push it towards the door.

"You did get her a helmet to go with it, right, Luke?" Rachel asked of him.

"Of course I got her a helmet," Luke assured her and turned his attention back to Shelby. "Maybe later, kiddo," he stopped her. "Right now, your guests are still here."

After the presents were all opened, they took turns playing Pokemon inspired party games, such as Pin the Tail Flame on the Ponyta, which Kirk lined up with the kids. Luke blindfolded each kid, spinning them around before letting them try to pin on the tail flame, pointing the kid in the right direction. When it got to Kirk, he made the guy do it himself.

"Why can't you do it?" Kirk questioned.

"Because you're not six," he pointed out. They did have to clear out of the way lest they get stabbed. Eventually, after watching the guy struggle for a few minutes, Luke grabbed a hold of the guy by the shoulders and pointed Kirk in the right direction.

Throughout the whole party, Rachel had also been making sure to take pictures of everything and everyone, especially lots of Shelby, getting one of her holding up each gift. Once it got late into the afternoon, the guests started to leave. The ones who stayed, helped clean up the diner so Luke could eventually open again for the dinner crowd.

It was a relief when Shelby at least gave Lorelai a wave good-bye when her, Rory, and Dean were leaving. It wasn't what she would have liked, but it was something. With everyone just about gone, Shelby asked her dad if she could go to the park with Ethan and Alan. Their mom assured him, she'll go with them and watch the kids, so Luke agreed. He cut the Super Soaker out of its box and filled the tanks with water for her. As he took customers' orders, the kids caught his eye from across the street, running around and soaking each other. It made him smile to see Shelby having fun again.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

To Luke's surprise, he came upstairs the next day, finding Shelby coloring several pictures for all of her guests that had come to her party, including her grandparents and aunt. He hadn't even hinted to Shelby to make thank-you cards, and neither did Rachel when he asked. At the next town meeting, Shelby shyly gave them out to each person. She waited to be acknowledged, not wanting to interrupt while some of them were in the middle of a conversation. Luke couldn't help feel so proud. A hopeful relief kicked in when she gave one to Lorelai. Shelby didn't say anything when she handed it to her.

"For me?" Lorelai asked, looking over the colorful drawing. "Thanks, Shelby."

The kid stood there for half a minute before bolting back over to her dad, hiding her face in his side.

Ever since Luke had given Shelby the bike, that was the one gift she actually did want to use the most, pestering him to go ride it. Unfortunately, Shelby had never ridden a bike before and the one Luke got for her, didn't have training wheels. Plus, she was still too young to go off on her own without supervision. He promised the next free time they had, together, Luke would take her.

Thankfully, they didn't have that long to wake as mid Tuesday morning, the diner had hit a dry spell. Luke closed the diner for a couple hours and headed for the park, pushing the bike there. The kid had put her helmet on before they even left the apartment.

At the park, Shelby swung her leg over and mounted the bike.

Luke stood beside the bike, holding onto one of the handlebars. When Shelby was ready, he pushed forward, making sure both of her feet were on each pedal, starting out slow.

"You're doing good, Shell."

Shelby kept watching her feet.

"Look up, kiddo. You have to watch where you're going."

She lifted her gaze, looking forward.

"Atta girl," he praised. "I'm gonna let go, now. Just keep pedaling, okay?"

Shelby nodded her head.

Luke held on for a few minutes, a few more than he initially planned, actually. Even though there had already been times where he had to let go, it never got any easier for the guy. When he did let go, Luke kept up alongside Shelby though as she continued to pedal on her own.

"That's it, Shell. Keep it going. You're doing great."

Shelby wobbled a little, but remained upright as she pedaled on her own. That is until she got to a turn and she immediately tried to put both feet on the ground. Only the balls of her feet could reach so Shelby ended up losing balance and fell over before Luke could remind her to use the brakes.

Luke moved the bike from on top of her and helped Shelby to her feet, kneeling to her level. "You okay?" he asked, worried.

Shelby nodded.

Luke checked her over, anyway, making sure she didn't get scratched up. When it was apparent she was just fine, he asked her if she wanted to try again. His question was answered when Shelby picked up her bike and was already getting back on. He smiled and stood up, moving over to her.

"Remember what I told ya before, if you want to stop, lightly squeeze the brakes. Like this," Luke gave the hand brakes a light squeeze to show Shelby, having her do the same, to make sure she understood. He also showed her how to turn. "Okay. Ready?" he asked, afterwards.

She nodded up at him.

Luke couldn't help smile which Shelby returned, and gave her a gentle tap on top of her helmet. They walked the bike along the curved part of the sidewalk before Shelby started pedaling. As they did the first time, Luke held on, letting her know when he would let go again. It took a moment like it did before, but not as long. Luke let go and even let Shelby get ahead. He still stayed a little behind, in case she fell again. In fact, she lasted longer before freaking out and jumped off the seat, this time. The bike was the only thing that fell, that time.

"You alright, Shell?" Luke asked, bending over to her level.

"I go' scared," she whispered so only her dad could hear.

Luke lowered himself into a kneeling position, "But you were doing so well, kiddo."

"I sorry."

"It's okay. It's your first day. Nobody gets it right on the first try," he assured her and reached over to kiss the side of her forehead underneath her helmet.

"Did you fall when you learned?" she asked.

"Mm hm," Luke nodded, slightly, "plenty of times. But I got right back on and kept trying until I finally got the hang of it."

So they tried again. Over an hour went by and Shelby was getting the hang of riding a bike on her own. She even pushed off on her own without her dad's help. That was the hardest and proudest part of the whole thing for Luke. Before they knew it, a couple hours went by and Luke had to get back to the diner. Shelby didn't want to stop and call it a day. She wanted to keep riding. So when Shelby and Luke ran into Rachel on the way home, Shelby asked her mom if she could take her back to the park, wanting to show her. Rachel agreed as long as it was alright with Luke, which it was.

In fact, since it was still summer vacation, Shelby spent a lot of the day with Rachel while Luke worked in the diner. It was better than sitting around the apartment all the time, doing nothing, but Luke still missed his little girl. He would head upstairs to check on Shelby only to be reminded she wasn't there. Luke still made sure she got her two to three hours of work every now and then. Shelby would just work in the evenings.

Even though Shelby spent the day with Rachel, a lot, she never wanted to spend the night. She tried it once, but Shelby kept waking up, crying throughout the night. Truth to be told, it was because Rachel had gotten a two-bedroom apartment so Shelby could have her own room whenever she stayed there.

"She's gotten used to sleeping in the same room with one of us," Luke guessed, the following morning. "We just transitioned her back to her own bed, and now Shelby has to get used to sleeping in separate rooms. She'll get used to it, eventually."

Rachel agreed, but they never got to try again. Shelby never wanted to, stating she wanted to go home. That was something else. To her, Luke's apartment was "home" while Rachel's was "Mom's house". Hopefully, with time, Shelby would come to see both apartments as "home".

The fifth week of July that went into the start of August, Luke checked the weather, making sure there wasn't any storms before suggesting him and Shelby take a camping trip, just the two of them. Summer was almost over and the two barely got any quality time in, besides her birthday party, and Shelby spent most of the time with her friends. So they packed up his truck and headed for their camping spot.

On the drive up there, the two chatted, with Shelby cracking up from making up her own jokes. Some of them didn't make any sense, but it made Luke smile to see Shelby laughing. Most of the time, she just put random words together.

"What do a moose and a tree have in common?" she would ask.

"I don't know," Luke shook his head, "what does a moose and a tree have in common?"

"Tear bo' really tall," Shelby would respond and then bust out laughing.

Luke would smile though. At some point, he used the time to help Shelby learn to enunciate some of the sounds she struggled with, starting with the TH sound and repeating words that had those sounds in them. Turns out, it was hard for Shelby to actually enunciate, but Luke figured it might have had to do with Shelby not speaking much, the first five years of her life. That meant it would take a lot of practice for the kid to get the sounds down, correctly.

When they got there, Shelby wanted to go on a hike first. During spring break, they didn't really see any critters around. That time, a rabbit had crossed their path.

"Look, Daddy," she pointed it out.

"I see it."

The sudden noise had startled the rabbit, causing it to scurry away.

"Aw, he ran away," Shelby stared after it, disappointed.

"You probably frightened him. Rabbits don't like loud noises," he told her.

"Oh." She held a guilt-filled face.

"It's okay, kiddo." Luke rubbed a hand along the top of her head, over her baseball cap which she wore backwards just like him. It was Shelby's decision, too.

During the whole trip, Luke made sure Shelby never grew bored. There was always something to do. It had been a long time since the two had played catch and he had even promised they would and never gotten around to it. Since Shelby had packed the bat, ball, and gloves, they played a few times. That is until Shelby hit a homerun and neither one could find the ball. Shelby was the most disappointed, grieving over the loss of her ball with tears.

"We'll get a new one when we get back home," he promised her as Luke comforted Shelby. "That was an impressive hit, you have to admit."

Shelby sniffed and looked up into her dad's face, who smiled for her. It got a small smile at least which was his purpose.

Besides hiking and baseball, Luke and Shelby did a lot of fishing on their father/daughter camping trip. The fish was hardly biting and when either one did get a bite, it was too small to feast on so they threw it, back. In all honesty, Luke never really cared if they caught anything. Of course, he never told Shelby that. To her, they were just fishing. To him, it was so much more.

Luke couldn't help watch Shelby as she stared out at her line, patiently waiting to catch another fish. With the sun shining, bright, Shelby kept wiping her brow, underneath her cap, complaining about the sunscreen that had mixed with sweat, running down into her eyes. He made sure both of them were drinking plenty of water to keep from getting dehydrated. With the sun bearing down, Shelby had turned her cap around to block the sun from her eyes.

When the sun moved and shade finally appeared, Luke lowered himself from the log they were sitting on, onto the ground and used the log to prop his head up. Shelby copying her dad, laid next to him. He smiled at her which she did, too, making him chuckle and Shelby snickered. Luke sat up, long enough to stick their fishing poles into the ground before lying back down. In the Connecticut summer heat, the duo was growing sleepy and soon, the two were both out, sleeping there by the lake, underneath the shade, the trees gave once the sun had moved position.

A couple hours went by. That part of the campgrounds was quiet except for the sounds the lake made and birds flying overhead, or a fish splashing somewhere, nearby. Shelby had woken up first and woke Luke, tapping him, awake.

"Hm?" he stirred, barely opening his eyes. "Is a fish biting?"

"No," she shook her head.

Luke rubbed at his eyes with the bottom of his palms, letting out a slight yawn. "You have a nice nap?"

"Yeah, bu' I need to go."

"Okay, just don't go too far."

Shelby stood to her feet and wandered over to hide in the bushes, grabbing a roll of toilet paper from their stuff. While she was gone, Luke checked both fishing poles. Still nothing. When she came out of the bushes, Shelby washed her hands in the lake with the soap they had brought before rejoining her dad.

Shelby removed her shoes and socks, slipping her bare feet into the lake. "Nuh-ting will try to ea' my toes, righ', Dad?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Be careful, kiddo," he answered, honestly.

So she decided to splash away anything that might bite her toes, kicking up water.

"Whoa there, kiddo." Luke held a hand up as if to shield himself from the flying water. "You'll scare the fish away."

Shelby stopped, abruptly. "Oh, yeah," she realized. "Sorry, Daddy."

"I'm sure they'll be back."

Turning back to the lake, Shelby carefully swirled her feet around in the water. Things grew quiet again as the two of them just sat there not saying anything. After a while, it was Luke who broke the silence.

"So, how do you feel, Shell?"

She looked back at him. "Abou' wha'?"

"About what happened between your mom and me."

Shelby just shrugged.

"What about with Lorelai?"

She looked back at the lake as Shelby gave another shrug.

"You know, she asks about you whenever they come to the diner," he pointed out. "Asks how you're doing and stuff. Lorelai misses you, especially."

There was a long pause before Shelby finally admitted, "I miss her, too."

Luke looked at her, in surprised relief. "You do?"

She nodded her head. He couldn't help notice her eyes were starting to water.

"Hey, what's wrong, kiddo?" he leaned forward to look at Shelby, directly. Her chest was heaving, in and out. "Shell." Luke lifted himself off the log and moved closer, next to her. "You okay?"

Shelby sat there, staring at the water.

Luke wrapped an arm around her, to rub the opposite one, just letting her cry and told her to take deep breaths.

After five minutes, Shelby finally managed to get out, "I tried."

"Tried what?"

There was a hesitance before she replied, "To talk to her."

"Talk to who? Lorelai?"

Shelby nodded, slightly. "I…" There was another pause which Luke consoled her.

"It's okay, kiddo," he assured her.

"I tried to come down to the diner when she tear, but I no come down the 'tairs."

"How come?"

Shelby shrugged her shoulders. "I ge' 'cared. When Mom and me see her, I hide behind Mom until she leaves or we leave."

Luke remembered Lorelai mentioning that to him. He continued to rub her arm, comfortingly. "Lorelai's not mad at you, kiddo. She's not going to scold you for anything." He heard her sniff in. Luke had no idea what to do. Now, all of a sudden, Shelby found it hard to talk to Lorelai again?

For now, to cheer her up, Luke offered the swimming lessons he promised, a few months, back. To his relief, Shelby agreed. They changed into their swimsuits and waded into the water. Shelby had a one-piece, plain blue swimsuit Rachel had gotten for her, for their mother/daughter trip.

Luke went in, first, facing Shelby. After making sure nothing would eat her, Shelby jumped in which Luke caught her. He then taught Shelby how to swim, holding onto her while she moved her arms and feet. It seemed to help perk Shelby up, for now.

The week had come and gone, and the day to pack up and head home, arrived. Thankfully, there wasn't any storms. It did rain one of the days, confining them to their tent. They passed the time by trying to figure out the card game Dean had given Shelby for her birthday. Luke had to keep rereading the rules, over and over, dividing up the sixty cards it came with, between them.

Shelby ended up falling asleep on the drive home, so it was quiet for the most part. Once he pulled up to the diner, Luke had Shelby help carry in what she could. Once they showered and didn't smell like the woods any more, Luke sent Caesar home since the diner wasn't packed. In fact, Shelby filled in for him, restocking napkins and wiping down tables.

When it was completely dead, Luke and Shelby tried another go at the card game. During Shelby's turn, the door opened.

Luke looked up just as Lorelai and Rory were coming in.

"Hey, welcome back, you two," Lorelai greeted.

He noticed Shelby, freeze as the girls made their way over to the counter, sitting down next to the little girl.

Luke touched a comforting hand to the top of her head before walking over to grab a couple mugs and the coffee pot, pouring the girls, some.

"So how was the trip?" Rory was the one to ask.

"Good," he replied. "Shelby learned to swim." Luke smiled over at the kid.

Rory smiled between Luke and Shelby. "That's always a good thing."

Luke nodded, in agreement, "Indeed it is."

Shelby still hadn't moved. In fact, she was still holding onto her cards, staring at them.

"Are those the cards Dean got her?"

"Yeah," he replied. "We're still getting the rules, down. It's a very strange game. Nothing like Go Fish."

"I told Dean he didn't have to get her anything, that he could be included in ours, but he said he didn't mind."

"It's fine. Shelby likes them, so that's what matters."

Rory folded her arms on the counter. "That's good." She looked over at the little girl sitting beside her. "Did you have fun on your camping trip, Shelby?"

Her head barely moved, up and down, in a nodding motion.

Lorelai stood up to switch stools, taking the one on the other side of Shelby. She gave the little girl a slight nudge with her side, "hey, girl. We missed ya."

Shelby did not look up, not even lift her eyes.

"So, when are we gonna have that karaoke party?" Lorelai tried to get a response.

Luke could see Shelby was pretty tensed by this point. He leaned in close to her, on his arms. "It's okay, kiddo. Take deep breaths. Come on," he encouraged, softly, having Shelby, breathe in and out. "That's it." Luke gave her arm, a soothing rub.

"Is everything okay? Did I do something?" Lorelai asked, looking between the two.

"No, Shelby's having an anxiety attack. She's, uh…" Luke turned back to Shelby, "can I tell her, kiddo?"

Shelby sucked in her lip, biting at it as she stared at nothing in particular.

"I won't if you don't want me to. I'll just tell her about," he leaned in closer, wrapping a hand around her head, to whisper in her ear for only Shelby to hear, "you being scared to talk to her." Luke let go, moving back, raising his voice to a normal speaking one, "Is that okay, or no?"

The anxiety must have spiked, because her eyes started watering and her chest was now heaving, a little faster than usual, actually. Luke immediately rushed around the counter, moving behind her, to life Shelby onto his side. Shelby buried her face in his shirt. Now that her chest was against him, Luke could feel her little heart beating up quite a storm. He rubbed a hand along her side. He had to force Shelby to move her head before she suffocated herself. If she was breathing this hard and this fast, Luke didn't think it was such a good idea to have her airways covered. Not that Shelby liked it. She fought him, a little, trying to rebury her face.

"Does this happen, a lot?"

"Not regularly, but it happens now and then," he explained. "I can usually calm her down, it just takes a minute or two."

The girls watched the tall, gruff, usually grumpy man cuddle and soothe his six-year-old daughter. Normally, Luke felt fine, worried and anxious himself that Shelby was going through something like this, but fine. Now that he had an audience, Luke felt extra uncomfortable as he tried to focus on Shelby. A few minutes had gone by and she was still upset.

Finally, Lorelai stood up and told him, "Alright, give her here," in a demanding, but calm tone.

"Why? I got her just fine."

With a teasing scoff, Lorelai took a hold of Shelby under the armpits. To Luke's surprise, Shelby didn't fight or tighten her grip on him. She did tense up, but Shelby allowed the woman to take her and console her. As Lorelai held the kid on her side, she rubbed a hand along the kid's back, talking softly to her. Not too long, Luke noticed Shelby start to relax in her arms. Slowly, but surely, her arms wrapped around Lorelai's neck.

"That's it, sweetheart. Everything's fine," he heard Lorelai tell her in a soft tone. "You're okay."

Luke was at a loss for words. It usually took him at least twenty minutes before Shelby was calm again. "How did you do that?" he asked once the shock wore off.

"I'm Mother Teresa," she replied, sarcastically, and added, "I have experience dealing with this sort of thing."

Luke let out a breath of air, but seeing his daughter, relaxed, made him relax as well.

Lorelai smiled towards the kid, who held her head against Lorelai's chest. "I missed you."

Shelby sucked in her lip, chewing on it before finally lifting her head. Her eyes couldn't hold contact for long, but that didn't stop the kid from trying. Her chest started to heave as her eyes watered. Lorelai gave her side, a gentle rub.

"I…" her voice was soft and hoarse. Shelby managed to shyly utter, "...miss you, too."

Luke couldn't help feel relief wash over him.

Shelby went mute again, dropping her gaze, elsewhere.

"Does this mean we're cool again?" Lorelai asked, which Shelby gave a small nod. "That's great, sweetheart. I hated not being able to see you and talk to you. You're my little pal."

That grabbed her attention. Shelby lifted her head. "Really?" she asked, shyly.

"You bet." Lorelai grinned and touched her nose to Shelby's.

It made the kid, giggle, showing off her dimples.

"That's the Shelby we all know and love," she stated, happily.

Shelby smiled at the woman. She then wrapped her arms around her and hugged Lorelai once more.

Lorelai hugged Shelby, in return, rubbing her hand along her back, which moved the back of her T-shirt in the process.

It was Rory who spoke up, again. "Feeling better, Shelby?"

Shelby nodded over at the older girl.

"Good," she smiled, "I'm glad."

Luke reached over and brushed his hand along the back of Shelby's head, over her baseball cap, "Me, too, kiddo." She probably still wished things could work out between him and her mom, but at least Shelby was able to forgive Lorelai and talk to her again. That was a plus in his book.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

With the school year drawing near again, Shelby was nursing her summer break for as long as she possibly could. Luke finally hooked the karaoke machine up to the TV so Shelby could use it. Neither one really knew how to work it. Luke kept referring back to the manual it came with. When they finally did get it working and Shelby picked the song to sing, she clammed up at first.

Luke sat on the couch, beside where Shelby was standing. She clutched the microphone in both hands. He was leaning forward on his knees. "It's okay, kiddo. Nobody can hear you. Just me," he encouraged, gently.

Shelby sucked on her lip, holding the round part up to her mouth.

"You want me to sing with you?"

She looked over at her dad and nodded. "Yes, please."

"I'm not very good, myself, but I'll try." Luke shifted over to be closer to the microphone. Watching the TV screen, he started singing the words, though it was more of a speaking tone and not so much as a singsong one. Nonetheless, it got Shelby to open up and sing, too. Once she got more into it, Shelby was able to sing the words, herself. At least around her dad, for now.

Lorelai had been pestering Luke when he and Shelby would be hosting a karaoke party. Luke had to decline each time. In fact, Miss Patty's reasoning for giving Shelby a karaoke machine was to help bring her out of her shell and practice with her vocals. Just like with speaking, it had to start with just her dad, too. A karaoke machine isn't really a first choice gift for a little kid. Luke did promise her and Rory could join in with Shelby as soon as she was comfortable singing with a larger audience.

Besides using her karaoke machine, Shelby enjoyed all of her gifts.

One day, while he was looking through his recent orders from earlier that day, Totodile appeared on the counter beside his paperwork. All anyone could see was the toy and a small hand controlling it. Totodile moved and tried taking a bite out of Luke's left hand he was holding on the counter.

Luke stopped what he was doing to look over at the blue crocodile-like action figure. He was bigger than the Mcdonalds' toys Shelby had and moved around more. Luke hadn't moved his hand, watching as Totodile "chewed" on his hand.

One of his recurring customers, an older lady with glasses she kept around her neck, on a chain, had come over to pay for her lunch.

"Oh no. I see you have a dinosaur trying to eat your hand," she went along with it, smiling.

"Yep. It happens." To Totodile, he asked, "You mind if I ring up Mrs. Johanson?"

Totodile stopped chewing on his hand and disappeared behind the counter. As Luke took a step over to the register, Shelby climbed up to see over the counter. She leaned on her elbows and waved, hello to Mrs. Johanson.

"Hello, Miss Shelby. How are you, today?" she replied, sweetly.

Shelby held a thumb's up to her.

"That is great to hear." Mrs. Johanson chuckled.

Luke counted out the woman's change and gave it to her. They exchanged good-byes before Mrs. Johanson left the diner. "Shelby, get down," he scolded when Luke finally noticed she was up there.

Shelby listened right away, leaping off the shelf she had been standing on. She reached up on her tiptoes to reach for Totodile, who ended up being out of her reach. Not that it didn't stop her from trying.

Luke was about to push the toy closer to her when someone beat him to it, catching a puzzled look from the kid.

Rachel had stopped by to pick Shelby up for the afternoon. She leaned forward to show her she was there. Excited, Shelby dashed around the counter, tackling her mom's legs.

"Hey, peanut. Helping your dad, work, today?"

Shelby motioned for her ear and whispered in it.

"Oh, Totodile was biting your dad's hand," Rachel nodded. "Is he missing a finger, then?"

"Yep, bit it clear off," Luke played along, holding his left hand up while holding down his pinky finger. Shelby silently laughed at him.

"I'll bring her back after dinner," Rachel assured him as they were leaving. Luke nodded before she added, "you might want to have a doctor look at that missing finger." When they were halfway out the door, Shelby suddenly remembered and ran back to hug and kiss him, good-bye.

"Daddy," she whispered for only him to hear.

"Hm?" he said in response.

"Your my bes' friend."

Luke couldn't help smile at that. He kissed her cheek before adding, "I'm your dad first. Okay? But yes, we're best friends." He touched his forehead to hers, the sound of hard plastic knocking together was heard from their baseball caps.

Shelby hugged her dad around the neck before returning the kiss on his cheek before she was set down on her feet. Dashing around the counter, she hurried back to where her mom was waiting. Both of them waved towards Luke as they left.

Aside from Totodile, the Legos, Sookie and Jackson got for her, also got used the most. They got mixed in with the ones Luke had got her, a couple months ago. With more pieces, meant more things to build with. Shelby ended up spending the rest of the summer building a complete city on top of the coffee table, including cars. Instead of wheels, each car, including an ambulance and a police car, had tracks like a sled. At least Barbie got played with. She was the mayor of the city and all of the Pokemon had to report to her with their problems. It made her aunt happy part of the gift didn't go to waste.

Speaking of Shelby's aunt. Liz hardly called, but after seeing Luke interact with his own kid and the progress Shelby made, in short of half a year, it made Liz decide to call him up when Jess got into some trouble. He tried to point out he had his hands full with the diner, plus his own kid who was a lot different in both age and personality, but Liz wasn't taking no for an answer and Luke gave in before hanging up on her.

Once he had a chance, Luke had to sit Shelby down and let her know they would be having yet another guest staying with them.

"I don't know how long Jess will be staying with us, but hopefully you can help me make him feel welcomed. Remember when you first moved here and everything was new to you?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Well, everything will be new for Jess, too. Okay?"

"Okay. Is Jess nice like you?"

"Maybe not like me, but Jess is nice...in his own way. Sort of."

Shelby just stared at her dad with a puzzled look.

"It'll be fine, though. I promise."

With help, Luke went shopping at Taylor's store, letting Shelby pick out most of the food. He had a general sense of what his nephew liked to eat. Then again, it had been some time since he last seen the kid, so he didn't exactly know. They also stopped by the sporting goods store to pick up a bed for Jess, too.

"Why are we ge'-ting Jess a raf' to 'leep on?" she had asked him, in his ear.

"It's not a raft, Shell. It's a temporary bed for him."

"What do temp-a-rary mean?"

"It means for a short amount of time until we can figure things out," he explained in terms Shelby could understand.

On the way back from the store, they ran into Lorelai who offered some help since Luke only let Shelby carry the bed. Luke declined, stating he had things under control and told Shelby to get the door to the diner for him. She hurried over and pulled open the door as Luke replaced what he had dropped. When he tried to stand again, the cereal dropped for a second time which Lorelai re-offered her help. This time, Luke allowed her to carry the cereal, at least. The three of them made their way upstairs to the apartment where Luke handed Shelby the key to unlock it for him.

As they had made their way, upstairs, Lorelai commented on how she thought Luke had trained Shelby to eat whatever he ate all the way through Shelby getting the door open.

"It's half and half," he explained. "I let Shelby eat what she likes, but not too much of it. Surprisingly, her favorite food is a soup I make every once in awhile."

"Kids' favorite foods are usually chicken nuggets, or cereal, or macaroni and cheese."

"Shelby doesn't really like mac and cheese. She'll eat it if I make it, but she won't ask for it or ask for seconds."

Once Shelby pushed open the door, the groceries fell through the box and spilled onto the floor.

"I have to say, this seems like enough food for more than two people," Lorelai continued as they carried the food inside and over to the table. "The kid's so tiny, how much can she eat?"

"It's not just for Shelby."

"Well, who else is it for?"

"My nephew," he said.

"Ah, your nephew's coming to visit."

Luke corrected her, setting some of the food down on the table. "Nope, he's coming to stay." He turned back to the hallway just as Shelby was making her way inside with an armful of food.

Lorelai must have seen it as well because she said, "You are a bad influence on your kid."

He ignored her, relieving the kid of some of the stuff.

"So, is your sister moving here?"

"Nope," said Luke.

"Well, I'm sorry, I don't get it."

This time, it was Shelby who finally spoke, now that they were upstairs and away from the customers. "Jess is coming to live here, temp-a-rary."

"Jess is your…"

"My nephew." Luke brought the last of the food over to the table. "My sister is busy, she can't handle him, she's sending him here."

"So she's just sending him here, just like that?" she questioned.

"Oh no, I'm sure she put at least five or six minutes of thought into it." Luke pulled the inflatable bed out of the bag and opened the box up, to pull it out.

"But why?"

"Well, because apparently he's been getting into some trouble, and Liz is afraid he's heading for something bad, and rather handle it herself, she's given up. She's sending him here so _I_ can straighten him out."

Lorelai gave the man a hard look. "You?"

"Yes," he replied.

"You can straighten him out?"

"Yes."

"You, Luke Danes, the great communicator, you're gonna straighten the kid out?"

Luke rolled his head up towards the ceiling. "All he needs is a change of pace, a new crowd, and to get away from the nutjob that, unfortunately, is my sister." While the adults were talking, Shelby had pulled a chair over to the counter, and used it to put away the groceries. Luke took the bed over to spread it out at the foot of his bed.

"How long is he staying?"

"I don't know," he answered, attaching the nozzle of an air pump to the bed's air hole. "Indefinitely."

Lorelai had followed him, sitting on the other side of Shelby's bed. "And how old is he?"

"Seventeen."

"Oh, wow," she said, looking away for a brief second. "That is very generous of you."

"Well, it's family. What else can you do?" Once the nozzle was attached, Luke started pumping air into the bed.

"Right," she agreed. "So what kind of trouble has he gotten into?"

Luke shrugged, "Just kid stuff, you know. Staying out late, getting rowdy. I don't know, exactly."

"Well, you might want to find out. Ask a couple subtle questions, you know, has he seen _The Shawshank Redemption_? Did the setting seem homey to him? Stuff like that?"

"Look," he said while he pumped, "his problem is obvious. It's his mother. We never could count on Liz for anything. Our mom died when we were kids, right? It was just my dad, me, and Liz. My dad worked all the time, and I worked in the store _with_ my dad, and Liz was off doing God knows what."

"I bet losing her mom so early was kind of hard on her," Lorelai said, in sympathy.

Luke added, "It was hard on all of us, but we did our part. And, the minute she graduates high school, she is outta here." He had paused in pumping air into the bed, "didn't matter that my dad was sick, didn't matter that the store was failing. She just took off. Married a hotdog king, had a kid, and he left. Now, here we are."

"Yeah, well...I'm sorry, what are you doing?"

"I'm blowing this up," he replied, like it should have been obvious.

"What is it?"

"It's a bed."

"A Bed?"

"For Jess."

"Luke, um, that's not a bed, that's a raft, which is fine if you're gonna build a moat around the diner," she pointed out.

Shelby, standing on the chair, blurted out, "See, I told you i' was a raf'," and immediately turned red from it when she realized she had blurted it out. Shelby stared at the floor with her chin pinned to her chest. Lorelai called her over, so the kid climbed down and went over to where she was sitting. Lorelai wrapped an arm around her, to comfort her.

"We think alike, don't we, sweetheart?" she tried to cheer Shelby up, or at least get a smile. The corner of Shelby's mouth lifted. Once the little girl was feeling better, Lorelai turned back to Luke, who had started pumping again. "Luke, the kid needs a bed. If you want to get him something inflatable, make it a blond."

"What ta'?" Shelby asked, curious.

Luke let out an annoyed breath of air for Lorelai mentioning that. "Nothing, Shell. It's a grownup thing." To Lorelai, he said, "I'll get him a bed as soon as I figure out how to fit all three of us in here."

"Hey, how does Jess feel about this?" asked Lorelai.

"I don't know," he admitted.

"You haven't talked to him about it?"

"No."

"Don't you think you should?"

"Why? He doesn't have a choice. His mom's a flake, he's coming here, end of story."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" she questioned.

"Of course I'm sure," he said as Shelby dropped onto the semi inflated bed.

"I mean, taking on another full-time kid? That's a lot of work."

"I know," Luke admitted. "Shelby, off." She frowned, having wanted to play, he figured, and crawled backwards, off the bed.

"And a seventeen-year-old who's been getting into trouble and is now being shipped off without his consent. That can be even harder."

Luke paused, again. "Look, all he needs is to be around someone who's not a selfish basket case, who'll give him a little space, who will treat him like a man."

Lorelai was shaking her head, "Maybe you should think about this."

"There's nothing to think about," he argued. "He's family. You take care of family, period."

"Yes, I respect that. But what if he turns out to be Fredo?"

"Are you seriously telling me not to do this?"

"No, I'm not telling you not to do this," she said, defensively.

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm just saying that…" she paused for a moment before adding, "if you need any help, I'm here," which Luke thanked her for.

"Look, I got a lot of things to do before he gets here," he added.

"Okay, I'm leaving." Lorelai stood up from the bed, which Shelby hurried over to give her a hug, good-bye as she grabbed her purse from the table. Lorelai wrapped an arm around the kid. "Oh, you do have an extra set of sheets, right?"

Luke had stood up, straight. "Yes, I do," he assured her, in a moan.

"That's not cartoon sheets?"

"Yes," Luke said in the same tone.

"Sorry, just checking. Bye." Lorelai turned to leave. As soon as she was gone, Luke hurried over and grabbed his keys where he had left them on the table. That is, unless Jess wanted to sleep on faded _Pokemon_ sheets, that have been washed, constantly. It took a couple more hours, but things were finally ready for Jess' arrival.

Luke and Shelby waited the rest of the time at the bus stop. Shelby had Totodile with her, having him "gnaw" on her dad's arm this time. She was a little bummed about her birthday being before the new games came out. When Shelby pestered Luke for one of them, he only gave her two options: wait for Christmas or use the money she was saving for her Nintendo 64 she earned from working in the diner. She didn't like any of the options, but chose to wait. Every now and then Shelby would ask her dad if he was sure, which he stuck to.

As the bus pulled up, Luke stood to his feet, which Shelby followed suit. A couple older guys got off before Jess did.

"Jess," Luke greeted his nephew.

Jess responded with a sarcastic, "Luke."

Luke took in a breath, letting it out. "Okay, so, huh, this is…" he looked down and noticed Shelby had, shyly, ducked behind his leg. She was peeking around at least. "This is your cousin, Shelby." Silence followed that statement. This had to be the most silent, awkward family in the world. They led Jess back to the diner, which Luke gave him the same introduction he had given Shelby when she first moved there, including about it once belonging to their grandfather. It was even one-sided like it was with Shelby, though he did get a "huh." They moved upstairs where Luke quickly gave the very short, grand tour. "Shelby picked out frosted flakes for you. She says she'll share her Trix if you don't like it."

"Wow, that's grrrrreat, but aren't Trix for kids?" he responded, sarcastically.

Luke just let it slide. "So, is that all your stuff?"

"Yup." Jess walked over to the inflatable bed.

"Yeah, well, not much there."

He stopped to look up at his uncle, "Well, Lizzie's sending the rest, later."

"So, you need some help?" Luke offered.

"Nope." That said, Jess dumped the whole contents of his large bag, out onto the inflatable bed.

"Okay, uh…," Luke pointed towards downstairs, "I have to get back to the diner. I'm gonna close up at ten, tonight, so I thought…."

Jess grabbed a book and used it to wave at him, "See ya at ten."

"But, wait, you need keys," he pointed out to him.

"No, I don't," Jess called without looking back and left.

Luke muttered, "I _so_ don't want to know why," out loud to himself and turned to Shelby, squatting to her level. "So, that's your cousin. What do ya think?"

She shrugged.

"Give it some time. Let him adjust, first. I'm sure things will turn out, good."

"I'm going to draw him a welcome picture for him," she decided.

Luke smiled at his daughter's kindness. "Okay, kiddo. I'll be downstairs if you need anything." He touched her arm and stood up straight, heading back downstairs.

Luke worked through the lunch rush. With summer vacation near the end, it wasn't as busy as it had been. Later, that afternoon, Lorelai stopped in, once more for the day and asked about Jess, who hadn't returned yet.

"You didn't ask him where he was going?" she was asking of Luke as he poured her coffee.

He set it on the counter in front of her as he replied, "No."

"Why not?"

"Because he's not Shelby's age," he replied, in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, but, Luke, he's new in town," she pointed out, her hands folded on the table. "He doesn't know his way around yet."

"Way around what? This is Stars Hollow. You take three left turns, you're back in the center of town."

"Luke, when a kid goes out, you have to at least ask where he's going."

"Why?" he questioned.

"Because you're responsible for him, now. If he goes and knocks over a liquor store, it's gonna be your fault."

"If I had asked him where he was going and he actually intended to knock off a liquor store, do you really think he would have told me that?"

"If he's dumb," she shrugged.

"He's fine. New topic." At that moment, Jess finally returned. "Jess, good," he called out to him. "I'd like you to meet someone."

Lorelai greeted the teenager as he neared the counter, introducing herself. "I just wanted to meet you before Luke had a chance to fill your head with all kinds of lies about me."

Jess turned to face her with his hands on his sides. With a quick nod, he replied with just a quiet, "hi."

"You know, you should meet my daughter, she's about your age. She can show you where all the good wilding goes on."

He gave her another quick nod, this time, raising his eyebrows for a moment. His left hand was now in his pocket, but not a word was said.

"Okay, uh, well, it's nice to meet you. I hope you like it here."

Another silent nod.

"So...class dismissed." She chuckled.

Luke tried to offer to make him something to eat, but Jess was already heading upstairs.

"So that's Jess," said Lorelai when he was gone.

"Yep."

"Very chatty," she added, sarcastically again.

"He's adjusting. He just got here," Luke reminded her. "He probably just went out and realized there are twelve stores in this town devoted entirely to peddling porcelain unicorns. I've lived in this town my entire life, I still can't believe it."

Lorelai stared at the counter as she said, "I'm sure that's it."

"He'll be fine in a few days."

"Hey, listen," she quickly looked at him, "I have a fabulous idea. What are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Why?"

"Why don't you, Shelby, and Jess come over for dinner," she offered.

"Dinner?"

"Sookie will cook, Rory will be there. It'll be a little 'hey, welcome to Stars Hollow, and see? Everyone here is not straight out of a Fellini film' kind of evening."

Luke quickly thought on it, staring at the counter before agreeing. "Okay, that'll be nice. Thanks."

"You're welcome, and you can bring Shelby's awesome new toy," she smiled wide at the last part.

Luke rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what she was referring to and made sure she wouldn't bring up the bed.

"I won't if you promise to bring it."

Luke just glared at the woman as he walked away.

Later, after Lorelai had left, Shelby came downstairs, tapping on her dad's leg.

"Hey, you missed Lorelai a bit ago," he glanced at her as Luke turned from helping a customer. He noticed the disappointed expression and kneeled to her level. "What's wrong, kiddo? Is it Jess?"

She shook her head.

"What's wrong?" He gave her his ear to speak into.

"The TV broke."

"Huh? The TV broke?" he questioned, confused.

Shelby nodded.

"Show me." Luke stood up and followed his daughter upstairs, where she pointed it out. The screen was nothing but black and white fuzz. He checked the back of it, fiddling with the cable. Luke lifted his head to ask, "It just went out?"

She nodded, pitifully and held Totodile up to him. It was during _Pokemon_.

"Looks like the cable's out, kiddo. I'll have to call the guy, in the morning, about it."

Shelby started tearing up at the sound of missing her show.

"You'll be fine, Shell." Luke switched off the TV. "Besides, you've been watching it all afternoon. I think you've watched enough for today. Maybe tomorrow, I'll put on your movie for you, how's that?"

Shelby reluctantly nodded. She motioned for his ear, "Can I give Jess ta picture, now?"

"Sure, kiddo."

She picked it up from where she had it on the coffee table. Luke watched as she shyly made her way over to where Jess was hanging his shirts up in the closet, stopping five feet away. Shelby stared down at the drawing in her hands which he knew she was sucking in her lip. Jess wasn't acknowledging her, though. It was unclear if he had noticed the kid or not.

"Jess," he called out to him. "Shelby wants to give you something."

Jess glanced at his cousin, giving her the same quick nod. "What, squirt?"

"Jess," Luke slightly scolded, calmly.

Shelby held the colored drawing out to her cousin. Luke didn't get a look at it so he wasn't sure what it looked like.

"What's that?" Jess nodded at it, hanging up the last of his shirts.

"Shelby likes making others, drawings and she wanted to draw you one to help you feel welcome. Right, Shell?"

She glanced back at her dad before turning back to Jess, and held it up to him again. Jess stepped from the closest, heading back to his bed. He stopped to take it from her as he thanked her, not much else was said. Shelby then returned to her dad.

"Shelby has some anxiety when meeting new people. You have to be patient with her until she's comfortable around you," Luke tried to explain to his nephew, receiving no response. Jess dropped onto the bed, tending to his own so he turned back to Shelby. "I gotta get back to the diner, want to come do your hours for the day? Give Jess some space?"

Shelby nodded and followed her dad, back downstairs. She returned, later that evening, after dinner, but only briefly, and returned downstairs.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" Luke held her on his side. The diner was dead except for Kirk and a couple others.

"It 'tinks up tear," she whispered to him.

"It stinks?" he made sure that was what she meant which Shelby nodded. "What does it smell like?"

Shelby shrugged. "I no know, bu' i' really bad."

"I'll be closing in an hour. You can stay down here and I'll check it out, then. Okay?"

She nodded.

Luke put her down.

Shelby decided to go over and have Totodile gnaw on Kirk for a while. The kid had ended up warming up to the guy, thinking he was extremely funny. At least he kept her entertained while Luke finished up for the night.

Once they were closed, Shelby helped clean up. Luke told her he would pay her extra for the help, too. When they were done, the two retreated upstairs as Luke turned off the lights. As soon as the door opened, he figured out what the smell was. Cigarette smoke. Heading for the window, first, Luke opened it, letting the room air out.

"So, you're unpacked?" he asked Jess.

Jess was sitting on his bed. "Yup," he replied, fanning a deck of playing cards.

"Got enough space in the closet?"

"Plenty."

"You hungry?" Luke headed towards the other side of the room.

"Eighteen," said Jess.

It made him turn back around, confused.

Jess removed the cigarette, blowing out a puff of smoke. "Just counting out how many questions until we hit twenty."

Luke breathed in, letting it out. "Okay, never mind," he muttered to himself.

The phone rang.

Luke headed over to the desk, answering it. "Yeah?" It was Liz, making sure Jess got there. She wanted to speak to him, but Jess didn't want to. So Luke made up an excuse and let him know that his mom's sending the rest of his stuff, Friday.

"You know your mom thinks this is," he sighed, "you know, for the best, for your own good. Anyhow, I guess you'll just call her when you feel like it." Luke watched the floor as he spoke.

"Want to play some poker?" Jess offered. "Five bucks a hand?"

Luke shook his head, "No."

"Ten?"

He continued to decline.

"I can't go any higher than ten."

"Jess."

"Okay," Jess glanced up at ceiling and raised it to fifteen.

"I don't want to play poker."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," he replied, softly, that time.

Jess turned his head away as he muttered, "Okey-dokey." He caught a look over at Shelby, who had started playing with her Legos, her city still in tack, on the coffee table. "Hey, squirt. Want to learn how to play?"

"Jess, you're not gonna teach your little cousin how to play poker," Luke told him.

"Why not? There's no harm in it," he shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Maybe some other time," Luke just said. "Right now, she has to get ready for bed. Come on, Shell." He headed for the bathroom as Shelby stood up from the coffee table. While Shelby played in the bath with Totodile, after getting clean, Luke slipped out to grab a pair of pajamas for her. On his way back, he remembered Lorelai's invitation and sat down on her bed, to let Jess know, first. It didn't go as he thought it would and Jess ended up leaving the apartment. On the other hand, Shelby's reaction was the total opposite, glad to be going over to Lorelai and Rory's house.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Luke ended up letting Jess take his bed and slept on the air mattress instead. Sometime during the night while shifting in his sleep, the bed popped and Luke ended up on the floor. Shelby stirred while Luke cursed under his breath.

She crawled over to the foot of her bed. "You okay, Daddy?" she whispered, softly.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Shell." He tried to lay back down and somehow get comfortable on the hard floor. Even in the dark, the kid could see the bed was basically gone.

"What happened to the raf'?"

"It popped," he replied. "Go back to sleep, kiddo."

"Like a balloon?"

"Yup." Luke held his eyes closed, to try and fall back to sleep, himself.

"You can share my bed, Daddy," she offered, sincerely.

Luke opened his eyes, peering up at his daughter, up side down. "Thanks, Shell. Are you sure?"

He barely made out her head nod. "I' sof'er ten the floor," she pointed out.

Luke couldn't help smile and stood up to move onto Shelby's bed. Shelby crawled over, next to him and covered them both up with her comforter. He had brought the pillow over with him so he wouldn't have to hog hers.

The following evening, the three headed over to Lorelai's house, later than intended. When Lorelai opened the front door, Shelby attacked the woman's legs, wrapping her arms around them. Once the food was ready, they gathered around the long table they had set up in the living room. Luke made Shelby's plate for her, making sure she was settled before going to look for Jess, checking the kitchen where Lorelai was tending to the bread. When he asked if she had seen him, she replied back with a sarcastic response, confusing the guy which soon escalated into a fight between the two. Though Luke tried to point out he had been doing just fine with his own kid, Lorelai assured him she still knew more than he did, considering it hadn't even been a full year yet, he's been a parent, plus, added there was quite the age difference between the two and that this wasn't the same. Some harsh things got said and Lorelai assured the guy he wouldn't have to hear her opinion again before Luke stormed out of the house to go look for Jess. Sookie and Jackson ended up bringing Shelby home, later.

"Are you mad at Lor'lai, now, like I was?" Shelby asked during her bath.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, kiddo," he assured her. "Okay?"

She still gave him a worried look.

"Everything will be fine, I promise. You'll see Lorelai again."

Shelby nodded, trusting her dad, but the worried look didn't go away.

The next morning, only Rory came in and tried to order two coffees and two danishes to go. Luke knew one of them was for Lorelai, and if she wanted her coffee, she would have to come in and get it herself, only letting Rory have one of each and if she still wanted more, then he'll give her another one. Rory questioned at the thought if Luke would really watch her eat a danish, which he responded about the cable being out and that he was starved for entertainment. So she took the one coffee and one danish to go. A few minutes later, he looked out to see Lorelai trying to get a little kid older than Shelby, to go in for her, too. The kid refused, scared out of his mind, and ran off.

The phone rang at that point. It was Taylor, complaining Jess had stolen some money from the bridge fund. After assuring him Luke would take care of it, he hung up to see Rachel had stopped by to pick up Shelby, who had already ran over to her.

"Hey, Luke. I know I haven't been by in a couple days. A colleague and I been busy preparing for a new assignment," she said, rubbing a hand along Shelby's head. Shelby tapped her leg, wanting her ear to tell her something. Rachel bent over to listen, though Luke couldn't hear. "I missed you, too, peanut."

"Yeah, Shell's been asking for ya," said Luke, which Rachel stood back up.

"Well, the next few days are completely cleared," she smiled down at the little girl, "just for you, peanut."

Shelby returned the smile, still holding onto her mom's leg.

Rachel turned back to Luke, "Hey, is Meet the Teacher Night, before or after school starts on Monday?"

Taking a second to ponder on it, Luke told her, "I don't know. I'll have to ask Monday morning when I drop Shelby off."

"I thought I would drop her off since mornings are usually swamped for you," she suggested.

"It's fine. Caesar can hold down the fort for a few minutes while I take Shelby for her first day."

"You had her first day, last year, I was hoping to have it, this year."

"That wasn't her first day of kindergarten, that was just her first day of a new school. This is her first day of first grade," he pointed out. "I'm not missing it."

Rachel argued she was postponing her trip for Shelby's first day.

Shelby tapped her mom's leg again. When Rachel bent over to listen, she whispered in her ear.

"We can do that, peanut," Rachel told her.

Luke asked, "What?"

She looked up at him. "Shelby asked if the both of us can do it."

Luke nodded, "Yeah, that sounds good. We can do that, Shell."

"Alright then. I'll be here around seven-thirty and we can both walk Shelby to school," Rachel agreed. With the plan all worked out, she ordered two coffees to go.

"I'm sorry, two coffees?" he questioned.

"Yeah, we're meeting a friend and…"

Luke had glanced over to see if Lorelai was still out there. Though he couldn't see her, he knew she was. Squinting his eyes, he said, "Lorelai talked you into it, didn't she?"

"What? No, my colleague, Sasha, has been wanting to meet Shelby since I started talking about her, so I thought we stop by, this morning, and say hi," she explained.

Luke wasn't buying it any more than he bought Rory's story. "Well then, Sasha can meet you here and meet Shelby where I can see her." He leaned on the edge of the counter, on his hands.

Unlike Rory, though, Rachel could say things the kid wouldn't and was able to get both coffees. As they were leaving, "Wait, I forgot," she said in mock realization. "Sasha doesn't like coffee," and smiled over at Luke, who fumed in frustration. He watched as Rachel headed outside and handed one of the coffees to Lorelai. He just shook his head at the women. She did assure him, they were meeting Sasha. That part wasn't a lie.

While Shelby was still with Rachel, later that afternoon, Luke headed over to the high school to wait for Jess to get out. Eventually, Luke caught him go by and hurried over to walk beside him, asking how school was before bringing up what Taylor had accused Jess of. Of course Jess lied that it wasn't true, even though it didn't sound all that convincing. After telling Luke to back off, Jess ended up being pushed into the lake, barely looking back to see if he was okay. Unsure of what to do, next, Luke headed straight for Lorelai's house.

As soon as Lorelai opened the back door, his first words were, "I just pushed him in a lake."

"What?"

"Jess." Luke came in, pulling the door closed, behind him and started pacing around the kitchen. "I got this call from Taylor that he thinks Jess stole the bridge money, and I went to confront him, and he was being impossible, and I just pushed him in a lake!" He continued to pace, grabbing at the bridge of his nose, muttering, "This is bad."

Lorelai watched him with her hands on her hips. "That depends. Can he swim?"

"He's fine. He's wet. I just… I lost it. You were right." Luke stopped to look directly at her. "I am in so far over my head, that I can't see my own hat." He continued to pace as Lorelai suggested to try turning it around. "What was I thinking? Why did I say yes to this?"

"Because you saw a kid in desperate need of help, and you thought you would throw him a line."

"Me, raising another kid? I already got my hands full, taking care of Shelby, who finally managed to go a night sleeping on her own and wake up dry."

Lorelai jumped in, happily, "Oh, really? That's wonder…"

Luke interrupted, "And she'll be starting first grade, and I'm already nervous about that, not to mention I have to go to this Meet the Teacher thing." The guy was starting to drift into one of his rants until Lorelai cut him, off.

"You can do this if you want to. You are totally capable. But you can't just buy a bed and some sheets and expect the rest to take care of itself. That will not work."

"I swear, I'm gonna kill Liz," he threatened.

"Hey, Liz is not the problem anymore. Liz is not here. Jess is here. Focus on him. What are you going to do about him?"

Luke looked up at the ceiling, trying to relax.

At that moment, Babette walked in the back door. "Lorelai, sugar. I hate to bother you, but have you seen Pierpon?"

She turned to the older woman. "Um, no. Why?"

"It's the darndest thing. I came out just now, and I noticed he was gone." Babette snapped her fingers, "just like that."

"I'm sorry," said Luke, confused and looked at Lorelai. "Who's missing?"

"Pierpon, gorgeous."

"Her gnome," said Lorelai.

"Her gnome?"

Babette added, "The one with the pipe. Oh, God, I hope nothing's happened to him. You get so attached to their little faces, sometimes you can hear them talk to ya at night."

Realization sunk into Luke's head of who might have taken the lawn gnome and assured Babette that she'll get him, back, before leaving, letting Lorelai know he'll see her, tomorrow, for her danish even though it wouldn't be danish day.

On the way home, Luke stopped to pick up a few things. He was laying down the law, this time. Unfortunately, it didn't go as he had pictured things, but at least he asked where Jess was going when he stormed out.

Monday morning came faster than either Luke nor Shelby would have cared for. It was a wonder who was more nervous. For different reasons, of course.

When Rachel arrived, Luke left Caesar in charge while the two walked Shelby to school. He had made sure the kid was up on time and dressed, with a good breakfast in her, or tried to. All the kid could eat was a few bites of oatmeal. Apparently, Shelby never really could eat while she was nervous and that was why there would be moments where she hardly ate much.

Before they left, Rachel had to snap a few pictures in front of the diner of Shelby ready for her first day of first grade. Over the weekend, she had taken Shelby, back-to-school shopping. Since Lorelai had already taken care of the school supplies and Shelby's backpack was still in decent condition, all they needed to get was clothes.

As they headed for the school, Shelby walked in between her parents, holding onto each of their hands. Luke was still just as nervous, trying to hold a front for his daughter, to keep her own anxiety down. He had asked Lorelai how she had handled all of Rory's first days as a kid. She explained she barely could, knowing her daughter was growing older and not needing her as much. Any parent can have a hard time letting go. If only she knew how hard it was for him, alone. Luke was still not looking forward to Shelby growing up and being on her own without him.

At the school, they headed for the first grade hallway. There was a bulletin board on the corner, where they searched for Shelby's name. Luke was hoping for a teacher that didn't mind hats, indoors, so Shelby wouldn't go back in the cupboard. Or at least the same kids as last year. It was Rachel who found her name, and pointed it out to him. When he saw who Shelby's teacher was, this year, Luke was both surprised and relieved at the same time. For one, it was his same first grade teacher. That was over thirty years ago, how was she still teaching after all these years? She had to be in her sixties, by now.

The minute they had stepped foot into the building, the hat had gotten turned around and Shelby clung to Luke's leg, squeezing his hand.

Luke kneeled to her level. "Hey, guess what?" She looked up from underneath her hat, giving him a look as if to ask, what? "You're gonna have my same first grade teacher. Is that cool or what?"

Shelby moved closer to whisper, "So, see's old?"

"Uh, yes," he replied. "How do you feel about having my teacher?"

She shrugged.

"Well, you know what? I bet you will like her. Mrs. Avery is a very nice woman. She would let me wear my hat in class. So I bet you will be able to wear yours, this year." A smile appeared when Luke mentioned Shelby could wear her hat which he playfully hit the brim of it, knocking it down over her eyes.

Rachel smiled as Shelby lifted it, a little to smile at her dad.

Luke stood up to lead the kid inside her new classroom. It was different than he remembered it. Instead of having the desks in groups of four like Darla kept her class, the desks were in groups of two, side by side, facing the whiteboard. The whiteboard was definitely different as he remembered there being a chalkboard. The classroom posters were upgraded to current ones and there wasn't any cubbies. The kids had to keep their backpacks and coats hanging on the back of their chairs.

Rachel suggested Shelby find her seat, following behind her and Luke. Mrs. Avery was already speaking with another couple as they searched, finding it in the center of the third row from the door, next to another desk with a nametag that read, Jacqueline E.

Shelby hung her backpack on the back of the chair and sat down so Rachel could get another picture, having Luke get in there for one, as well.

Eventually, the teacher finished with the other parents and made her way over. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Lucas Danes," she greeted with a smirk.

Luke returned the greeting and gave the older woman, a hug.

She turned to Rachel, "And you are…?"

"Rachel," Rachel held her hand out to her, to shake her hand. "Shelby's mother."

Mrs. Avery looked down at the kid hiding underneath her hat.

"You still don't mind hats in your classroom, right?" Luke asked, double checking. He released a breath of air under his breath when she affirmed it and explained to her, the hat thing. "So you may not get any words from her for a while."

"Gee, doesn't that sound familiar?" Mrs. Avery let out a chuckle and winked at him which Luke smiled down at the top of Shelby's head. "As long as it doesn't interfere with her work, I'm okay with the hat rule. I just need Shelby to show me she's paying attention."

Luke squatted next to Shelby's chair. "You hear that, kiddo?" he asked her. "You can keep your hat on, just make sure you're paying attention when Mrs. Avery is talking. Okay?"

Shelby nodded at him, holding the brim of her hat up, a little, so she could see him.

One by one, the rest of the class rolled in and found their seats. The first hour of the day, the parents stayed to listen to Mrs. Avery talk about first grade, what the kids will be learning over the next nine months, and the classroom rules.

As Luke stood at the back of the room with the other parents, he couldn't help notice Alan and Ethan wasn't in the same class as Shelby. The kid had been hoping to be in the same class as her friends, and so was Luke since those boys looked out for her when he couldn't. His own anxiety was rising just watching Shelby. Mrs. Avery had informed the rest of the class about what the rule was whenever Shelby wore her hat over her eyes. The kids seemed cool with it, but it was too soon to tell.

While Mrs. Avery took attendance, she had each kid stand up and say one thing about them and something they did over the summer. One other kid was also shy as Shelby was, but it wasn't as severe, and was able to speak softly to the class.

Another thing he noticed was the fact Luke was the only parent who didn't have either a camera or video camera. It really didn't matter to him. He would remember this moment through the camera of his mind, he didn't need to take pictures or film this. But another part of him, the anxious part, wondered if he should have at least got one of those disposable cameras. Was he a bad father for not wanting to document one of his kid's milestones?

Mrs. Avery finished with teaching the students the good-bye song, a song Luke despised as a kid. After she did it first, to show them, Mrs. Avery had the students turn around and face their parents, to sing it to them. Shelby turned, but wasn't participating. Instead, her head was pointed towards the floor, grasping the bottom of her shirt, bunching it up.

Luke made his way around the parents as they left the classroom, to say good-bye to Shelby, kneeling to her level. That was when he saw she was crying. "What's wrong, kiddo?" he asked. Shelby continued to stare at the floor. "Is it because Ethan and Alan aren't in your class, this year?" Her head moved, up and down, a little. "I'm sure you'll see them at recess and lunch."

Shelby clung onto her dad and did not want to let go.

He held her, close. "I know you're afraid, Shell. Mrs. Avery is a very nice lady just like Mrs. Carnell was, I promise. I remember having a lot of fun in her class when I was your age." Luke rubbed a hand along her side.

Rachel had come over, to see what was the matter. He told her it was first day jitters. Both of them gave the kid, a hug and a kiss before they had to leave so Mrs. Avery could continue the class.

Out in the hall, Luke couldn't help repeat last year, lingering outside the room.

"She'll be fine, Luke," Rachel tried to assure him.

He glanced at her, before looking back through the narrow window on the door. "I know." Rachel ended up having to drag Luke away, otherwise, they would probably still be standing there when school was over. As they made their way down the hall, Luke couldn't help look back over his shoulder, continuously. Every fiber of his being wanted to go back there and check on the kid. It took all he had not to.

Rachel was staring down at her camera as she walked beside him. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

Luke finally forced himself to look forward, turning his head towards her. "About, what?"

"Shelby tells me you both have another guest staying with you."

"Yeah, Liz sent my nephew to come stay with us, hoping I could straighten the kid out," he shrugged it off.

"So, the three of you are living in your apartment, now?" she questioned.

"Yep." He was watching the floor as he walked.

Rachel looked up at him. "For how long?"

Luke shrugged, "I don't know. 'Til he goes off to college, or prison."

"Yes, that is very comforting to hear my daughter is living with a future convict," she replied, sarcastically.

Luke looked up. "Come on, Shelby is fine around Jess. They seem to get along, so far."

She stopped walking, to fully face him. "Shelby also tells me, she's letting your nephew have her bed and is sleeping in your bed again."

"And?"

She let out an annoyed sigh, off to the side. "Luke, how can I get Shelby to sleep in her own room if she can't sleep in her own bed?"

"She has been sleeping in her own bed. Shelby's just being nice for her cousin, helping him feel at home," he pointed out.

Rachel crossed her arms across her chest and ran a hand over her face. "I'd really like for Shelby to feel comfortable sleeping over at my place." She shrugged, "I mean, do you want that, too?"

Luke meant to answer, but couldn't find the right words. Truth was, he would like it if Shelby could sleep over at her mother's, and eventually, maybe a friend's house. Knowing he couldn't always protect her, scared him to death.

Unfortunately, Rachel took his silence as a no. Dropping her eyes towards the floor, she took a deep breath. Luke couldn't help notice she was trying to say something that she did not want to say.

"What?"

Rachel looked up to admit, "Luke, I don't want to do this, but if it's going to be a problem, then we're gonna have to go to court and get a joint custody."

"What, why?" He didn't understand why Rachel felt there was a need to get the legal system involved.

She gave a long shrug. "It's been a month since Shelby last slept over. I'm happy I can see her during the day, but I'd like if we could stay home and watch movies, and not have to worry about it getting too late and bringing her back to your place that same day. I want her to feel at home when she's with me. But how can she if Shelby can't sleep over?"

Luke searched around at the floor, his hands hanging out of the pockets of his jeans.

"I would love to have Shelby for a week when I get back, and now that there's two guys living there, I'm sure a break away from that with some girl time would be good for her," she added. "I'm not saying do each other's nails or do each other's hair. I don't want to make Shelby do things she doesn't like to do. But letting Shelby give her bed to her cousin meant she could go back to your bed, I bet. We can't keep that up, Luke. Shelby needs to learn to be independent."

Luke's head shot up. "Independent?" he questioned. "Shelby is independent. She's dressing herself, now. She can make her own cereal and even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, though I'm still trying to remind her not to lick the spoon before sticking it in the jar. Shelby does a lot of things on her own."

"Yes, Luke. Everything except be away from you."

He went silent at that.

She gave him a knowing look before looking down at the floor. "I guess...maybe...never mind." Rachel turned to walk away.

Luke reached out to her. "Rachel, come on."

Rachel just shook her head. "I'm here, Luke. I came back. I knew I had to change for our daughter. But I guess that isn't enough. You still can't trust me."

"Rachel."

"I get it, Luke," she shrugged. "Maybe a judge will help prove I mean it." Rachel took in a deep breath and let it out. "Think it over while I'm gone." Finally, she turned and continued to walk away as Luke watched her. He looked away, releasing a breath of his own. He did not want to have this go to a court room. Guess he should have mentioned, Shelby has rolled over, away from him, in her sleep and slept on the other side of the bed.

Luke found himself back at Shelby's classroom, checking in on her, maneuvering where he could spot her through the narrow window. They were sitting over on the story rug, listening to Mrs. Avery read to the class. Shelby was sitting on the corner of the rug, hugging her knees to her chest, her hat still covering her eyes. At least she wasn't hiding in a cupboard, this time.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Stress piled high on Luke's plate over the next few weeks, what with Rachel's little threat and also dealing with his nephew, on top of his workload at the diner, and Jess' attitude and mockery didn't help matters any. With trying to get Jess downstairs so he could run Shelby to school before he could be back in time for Jess to head off to school, himself, was a complete nightmare. It was hard for the guy to keep his cool when everything was a mess.

To make matters worse, halfway through the second week, Shelby started trying to refuse to go to school.

"I don't have time for this, Shelby," he had told her one morning, trying to remain patient as he possibly could. Luke felt guilty for rushing the kid. Thankfully, Lorelai volunteered to take Shelby to school, in the mornings, at least for now. She also finally got some of what was stressing him out, other than dealing with Jess. Luke told her what Rachel had said.

"Wouldn't sharing custody help make things, easier?" she asked.

"Sure, I guess," he shrugged, standing behind the counter. "But having to go inside a courtroom? I didn't care too much for it when I was getting Shelby out of foster care."

"Wait," Lorelai realized. "Can she even file for custody?"

"Why not?"

"Didn't you say she turned Shelby over to foster care to be adopted?" she reminded him.

Luke shrugged. "What's your point?" The guy didn't really know much about the legal system when it came to child guardianship laws. Before Shelby, there wasn't really a need for it as he never planned on having kids of his own.

"You might want to call Shelby's caseworker about this, Luke. I don't think Rachel can file for custody, not if she turned her rights over to someone else."

"You think?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm almost positive. But I think I have a solution that might help Shelby, though. If it's being in a room by herself, she's afraid of, maybe take things slow."

"We are," Luke pointed out. "She _was_ sleeping in her own bed. What would be the next step after that?"

"How about this, I come pick Shelby up to sleep over at my house?"

Luke didn't understand what she was getting at, shaking his head. "If she can't sleep over at Rachel's, what makes you think she'll be able to sleep at yours? And besides, you don't have an extra place for her to sleep."

"I have a couch, that is a few feet from Rory's room. You can see right in there from the couch. It should be perfect to help Shelby get used to sleeping in a room by herself."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "You really think that'll work?"

"Sure it will," she replied, "and Shelby loves Rory. So, what do you think? Should we give this a try?"

He thought on it, crossing his arms as he leaned on the counter behind him.

"It'll only be for one night, and Shelby loved coming over the other times."

"I'll have to send an extra mattress cover for your couch if Shelby's gonna be sleeping in a new place, but yeah. I'm willing to try it if she's willing to," Luke shrugged.

"I can pick her up when we come for breakfast, that morning," she added.

"Okay then." Luke was feeling a little better, hearing they had some kind of plan. That is, if Shelby agreed to it.

The phone rang.

Luke reached over and grabbed the receiver, putting it to his ear. "Luke's," he said into the phone.

"Luke, this is Madison Flores, Shelby's formal caseworker."

"Oh, hey," Luke greeted in return, cheerfully. "How are you?"

"I'm doing great, and you? How's Shelby doing?"

"We're both good. Shelby started first grade, a few weeks ago."

"Oh, that's wonderful. How's she liking it, so far?"

"She seemed to be fine the first few days, but lately, she started trying to refuse to go and won't tell me why," he told her.

"Oh, dear. I wonder…"

"What?"

"Well, the same thing happened at one of her other schools, last year, too," she explained. "Shelby's been prone to being bullied since she started school, and when that happens, she tends to refuse to go," Madison explained.

"I see. Well then, I'll ask her, later when I pick her up." Great, another thing to worry about. This was one of the things Luke felt nervous about whenever Shelby was out of his sight. He knew some kids could be mean and he did have a small thought of the possibly Shelby would be bullied. Of course, that was a fear he hoped wouldn't become a reality now that the boys were in a different class.

"I'm really sorry to hear that's still happening," she told him, in sympathy. "That little girl sure has had it, rough in her short life."

He shrugged, "That's life, I guess. If Shelby is being bullied, I'll talk to her teacher, see if there's something she can do about it."

"I'm sure things will get brighter." Madison moved on to the reason of her call. "I wanted to apologize again about missing Shelby's party. I would have been there, but I got called out of town on a family emergency."

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it. We understand," he assured her.

"I wasn't able to finish her present, anyway, but now that it is, I was wondering if I could come down there and give it to her, and see how she's doing, too."

"That'll be fine. I'm sure Shelby will like that."

"To be honest, it's really a gift for both of you, as I think you'll like it just as much if not more." The sound of her voice sounded as though she was smiling, hugely.

"What is it?" Now, Luke couldn't help feel a bit curious.

"I can't give it away, that would spoil the surprise," she pointed out, in a harmless, teasing manner.

"Fine, I guess." At least, there was some good things happening amongst all this chaos.

A thought must have come to mind as Madison asked, "Hey, whatever happened with Shelby's mother? Everything turn out alright?"

"Yeah, actually. Rachel took Shelby on a trip to Ireland for a month. Shelby had a really good time."

"That's good to hear. I'm glad that worked out. I knew she would regret signing her parental rights away, someday. I'm just glad you're a nice guy to give her another chance."

Luke slowly looked up at Lorelai, who caught it. "What do you mean?"

"The day we were signing the papers to release all her rights, I kept asking Rachel, if she was sure this was what she wanted, as I could tell she was having a real hard time with it, but Rachel kept sticking to it. I knew later on down the road, she would regret it. Once it's settled, it's done. There's no undoing it."

"What do you mean? Undo what?"

"Once you sign all your rights to your child away, you can no longer get them back. Technically, you can't even have contact with the child until they turn eighteen, unless okayed by the other parent or legal guardian, which would be you."

"Wait," Luke kept contact with Lorelai, "so Rachel doesn't have the power to file for joint custody?"

"Nuh uh. Once it's gone, it's permanent. I mean, people have tried to appeal it, but unless they can prove they were manipulated into doing it, they can't. Wait, why? Did Rachel say she wants custody back?"

"Yeah, before she left on her work trip, she wasn't liking how I was doing things, so she said we would go to court so she can get joint custody," he told her.

"Well, you have nothing to worry, Luke. You have full custody until Shelby is an adult. Rachel has no say in anything regarding her needs, and that includes education, health, and even religion. That's all yours. I mean, she can try, but it's gonna be. not only a huge waste of time, but a waste of money, as well. In fact, I told her all of this the day we did the paperwork. I think I must have asked her fifty times, are you sure you want to do this? Once you make this decision, you are out of your daughter's life until she turns eighteen and that's only if Shelby wants to. But she just kept insisting, stating it was for the best if she did this. I mean, I've seen this with the younger moms who are still considered children, themselves, but a grown adult woman? I just thought she was in some sort of trouble, or you were some abusive monster. Maybe that's why I never pursued you in the first place. I can't apologize enough for that, by the way."

"It's okay, really." Luke couldn't believe Rachel went through all that trouble to give up their daughter, what she put Shelby through just because she felt she wasn't ready.

"Can I just say, you are the nicest guy I have ever met. I haven't met that many who would be willing to let the other parent back into their kids' lives like you did. That had to be hard for you."

"It's her mom. I figured Shelby should know who her mom is," he said.

"Luke, having a child doesn't make you a mother, or a father, for that matter," Madison told him. "Anybody off the street can have a child. It takes a real man or woman to raise them. You are doing that. From the moment I told you about Shelby, you jumped at it. You came straight down here and did what you had to do and Shelby is so lucky to have you. Rachel, on the other hand… I get it, parenthood is scary. I have two, myself, and I'm sure you can agree. I told her, there are services that could help her, if she needs it, but Rachel wouldn't take them. She just kept insisting that Shelby would be better off with parents who knew what they were doing. And Luke…"

He had been staring at the floor, listening. "Yeah?"

"Because of that, you have the legal right to tell her she cannot see Shelby and you shouldn't feel guilty for it, either. _She_ made that choice, herself, not you. You are doing what you need to do for the best interest of your daughter. What is it she doesn't like what you're doing, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Shelby's not wanting to spend the night at her place, and is back to sleeping in my bed. Rachel wants her to be independant from us," he explained.

"Okay, yes, usually a kid should be able to sleep on their own by the age of six," Madison agreed, "but kids in Shelby's situation take longer than their peers. Shelby's been through more transitions than any child has by this point and that can be traumatizing for any child. It's gonna take some time before Shelby can move on from it, and she has plenty of time."

"Well, she was sleeping fine in her own bed for a good while, but my nephew's staying with us, and the bed I got him, popped, so Shelby offered him, hers and I let her bunk with me. Rachel took that as Shelby doing it as an excuse to come back to my bed."

Madison chuckled. "Shelby's a sweetheart. It doesn't surprise me she was willing to share her bed with your nephew, Luke. I'm sure climbing back into your bed was not her first thought to cross her mind, and even if it was, that just means she still isn't completely pass her fears, and that's okay. Five years of moving from one home to another, and meeting lots of new people, dealing with what Shelby had to face doesn't go away over one night. It takes time. How much progress she's already made being in your care is already amazing enough, so I have no worry for what the future holds."

Luke smiled up at Lorelai. "A friend of mine was just talking about having Shelby sleep over at her house, this weekend," he said and went on to explain the plan.

Madison was very impressed by that idea. "That is a smart lady. I'm sure with the success of the hat trick, that could work, too." There was a short pause before she said, "Luke, I gotta go. There's a call coming in. But I will see you when I stop by."

"Okay. Thanks for calling," he replied.

"No problem, and give Shelby a hug for me."

Luke smiled, "I will." The two said their good-byes before he hung up.

"So, that went well, I see," Lorelai finally spoke up.

"Yeah, it did," he nodded. "And you were right. She says it would be a waste of time and money going to court because Rachel did sign her rights away. Technically, she wasn't suppose to have contact with Shelby until she's eighteen."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows, in surprise. "You're kidding?"

He shook his head. "That's up to me. In fact, Rachel has no input, whatsoever. She threw all of it out the window."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Next time Rachel calls, we're gonna have to have a chat about a few things," he shrugged. "Or, wait until she gets back. I don't want to kick her out of Shelby's life, but now that I know she can't be making these kinds of threats, there's gonna have be some ground rules."

"Well, I was doing some thinking while you were on the phone, and I figured the invitation would sound better if coming from me. So if it's alright with you, I can go swing by the school and pick up Shelby, and we can talk about it over some ice cream."

"Yeah, that's fine by me. You should probably get going then." Luke glanced at his watch. He thanked her as Lorelai headed for the door.

It took some persuading, but Shelby was coaxed into spending the night at Lorelai's house. Later that evening when the diner was dead and Luke had locked up and pretty much had everything packed up and ready for the next day, Rachel called for Shelby.

"Hold up there. Before I pass the phone over to Shelby, the two of us need to talk," he told her.

"In regards to…"

"You making empty threats when you damn well know you can't," Luke blurted out before he could stop himself.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I think you know what I'm talking about, Rachel."

"I don't, actually."

He took a deep breath in before continuing. "I had an interesting chat with Madison, today. Want to know what about?"

"Who's Madison?" she asked.

"Shelby's caseworker. You met her," he pointed out, "you know, the day you gave Shelby away." Luke didn't wait for Rachel to respond, that time. "And she tells me that she told you, you can no longer have any jurisdiction when it comes to Shelby, that it would be wasting my time and yours, going to court."

Silence followed for a minute.

Luke was the one to break it. "Rachel."

"There has to be some way," she finally spoke up.

"There isn't, Rachel. This is permanent, it's why Madison kept asking you if this was really what you wanted. She knew it wasn't, but you kept insisting." His voice was softer that time. "I have one hundred percent control of how Shelby is raised. I'm sorry, but legally, that's what it is."

More silence followed.

Luke took another breath and rubbed at his eyes with one hand. "She also told me you're not even supposed to have contact with Shelby until she's eighteen and I have authority to put a stop to it."

Rachel started pleading with Luke not to.

"I'm not, Rachel. You want to know why?"

He heard her sniff in, which was strange as Luke had never seen or heard Rachel cry. "Why?" she asked.

"Because I wouldn't keep someone from their kid the way you did, Rachel," he answered. "Yes, I have forgiven you, but that doesn't change the fact of the lengths you went through where I may have never even known Shelby existed. Thank God Madison's office got a wake-up call or who knows what could have happened."

"I already told you, I'm trying to make up for it, but what you're doing, Luke. You barely give me a chance. Yes, legally, I have no say, but what you're doing…"

"Is my right, Rachel. I'm sorry, but I don't think you fully understand what you put her through. So what if Shelby still wants to climb into bed with me. So what if she's not ready to sleep over at your place. She's got five years to unravel from because of the choice _you_ made, and you expect her to get over it just like that?"

Rachel suddenly snapped. "No, I don't expect Shelby to get over her fears just like that, but letting her continue sleeping in your bed will not help her, Luke. All it's doing is prolonging things and the longer this goes on, the harder it will get and the judge will agree."

"Her caseworker doesn't see a problem with it, Rachel. Shelby has already shown progress and feels she'll be just fine. But you wouldn't know that, would you, Rachel, because you're not here to see things, and so you judge things based on _your_ feelings. You think you know what's best for her, but you don't. You had your chance, but you gave her up without even my consent. You basically stole that right from me, and you hurt our daughter in the process, and you think you can weasel your rights back when you knew you couldn't? What did you expect to happen?"

There was a pause before the call suddenly ended. When Luke heard the dial tone, he looked at the phone and hung it on its hook. He ran a hand down his face, realizing how harsh he must have sounded and kind of regretted it. Even though Luke said he had moved passed what Rachel had done, the anger was still there, lurking in the shadows. He didn't mean for the conversation to go south like that, but the words just flew right out of his mouth.

Eventually, Luke headed upstairs. Right as he opened the door, he heard someone shuffling and jump onto both beds. Once inside, he saw Jess was lying on Shelby's bed, reading, and Shelby sitting on his, reading one of her books. But Luke's mind was too occupied to even say anything at the moment, and went over to sit on the foot of his bed, dropping his hands into his face.

Shelby crawled over next to him, sitting back on her legs. She reached up to whisper if he was okay since the kid wasn't at the point of talking in front of Jess, yet.

He forced a smile for his daughter. "Yeah, I'm okay, Shell."

She gave him, a disbelieving look. Shelby leaned against his arm to give him a hug, to comfort him. Luke couldn't resist smiling for real, that time and reached over to kiss the top of her hat.

Rachel didn't call back until the following evening. This time, as soon as she asked for Shelby, he held it out towards her without another word. Luke wasn't expecting the kid to decline the call.

"Shell, it's your mom. She wants to say good night," he reminded her.

Shelby continued to shake her head, not budging.

Luke covered the speaker part of the phone, kneeling to her level, beside the chair she was sitting in. "Hey, what's the matter, kiddo? Why don't you want to talk to your mom?"

Shelby wasn't even making eye contact with him, she just stared at what was left of her homework she had to color. He tried to encourage her to take the phone, but for some reason, Shelby did not want to talk. It wasn't the fact Jess was in the room as Luke expected Shelby to take the phone out into the hallway and sit at the top of the stairs.

He returned the phone to his ear to tell Rachel, Shelby wasn't feeling well and wasn't up for talking. When he hung up, Luke tried to encourage her to talk about it, but Shelby didn't want to and so he didn't push her to. He tried to ask Jess, in case he had said something, but Jess said he had nothing to do with it.

"Did your mom say anything to you?"

Shelby shook her head while staring at her lap.

"Well, if you don't want to talk to your mom, you don't have to, kiddo. It can wait until you're ready, okay?"

That time, she nodded.

Luke didn't understand this sudden change Shelby had. First the refusal to go to school, and now this? Something was definitely on her mind, that was for sure.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Over the next few days, Shelby continued to decline any of her mother's calls and when a postcard she had sent arrived, Shelby paid no mind while Luke read it aloud to her, asking if she could go play, afterwards. She still did not want to go to school, even though Luke had a talk with Mrs. Avery, who hadn't noticed anything, but would keep an eye out. He couldn't help notice how much Shelby was withdrawing again, and only wanted to curl up on her pillow and play her game. Luke thought it would cheer her up when he stopped by the bank to deposit her latest allowance and saw Shelby finally had enough money for her game console.

He sat down on the bed and leaned on the pillows, against the headboard. When he told her the good news, a smile appeared on her face. "How about Sunday, after Lorelai brings you back, we head for the store?"

Shelby nodded. "Yeah," she replied, softly.

"I was thinking, if you don't have enough for a game, I would pay for it?" Luke also suggested. Shelby grew very excited to hear that. "I am so proud of you for sticking with this, kiddo. You did extra good, working downstairs and saving your allowance even when you wanted those other games."

"Ta' ta next ting I wan' to save for," she told her dad.

He smiled. "Is it now?"

Shelby nodded, and scooted closer to lay against his shoulder. She then changed the subject, wanting to show her dad, her team at the moment.

"What happened to Pikachu?" he asked. "I thought he was on your team."

"He was. Pikachu no evolve. I try to use a 'tone to evolve him to Raichu, but ta game no le' me. So I pur him away in ta PC."

Luke nodded, "Oh, so Pikachu got benched?"

She nodded, in return.

"I thought you loved Pikachu, though?"

"I do, bu' Raichu is be-ter in ba-toe." He had noticed the T sound at the end of a word was also hard for her to say, including the end of syllables.

"Raichu's better in battle than Pikachu is?" he repeated for clarity, which she nodded. Luke reached for where Pikachu laid on the bed, nearby, and looked at the toy, "Sorry, pal. Even the best of us get benched," making Shelby giggle.

Jess had walked into the apartment at that moment, and overheard the guy. He stopped to question, "Are you talking to a toy?"

Luke shot up, tossing Pikachu over beside where Shelby was sitting, landing near Maggie the stuffed kitten. "What? No."

"Really? Because it sure looked like it."

He just ignored the boy and turned back to Shelby, to have her go bring him her backpack so he could check her homework folder. Every school day, Shelby brought home papers for him to read and sign, that kept him up-to-date on how she's doing and what they accomplished that day, with comments Mrs. Avery would write. Luke faintly remembered the ol'homework folder. Of course, he remembers bringing it to his mother, more, as there were some days he wouldn't want his own father to see. So far, Shelby hadn't had any bad days, yet and he wasn't expecting one any time soon, if at all. Or, so he thought…

The following day, Shelby left for school with Lorelai, then eventually, followed by Jess. Things seemed to run smoothly through the morning. Luke had to run some errands in the afternoon so he missed the phone call from the school. Still out when it was time for Shelby to get out, he headed straight to the school, parking before sliding out. He looked around for her class, spotting them, but Luke couldn't help notice there wasn't a baseball cap among the many heads. His first thought was, _Oh, God, she's back in the cupboard!_

Luke headed over and asked one of the other first grade teachers where his kid was. Mrs. Avery wasn't even out there, either. The teacher told him it was Mrs. Avery's day to hold after-school detention and Shelby could have been with her. That was impossible. Luke couldn't see Shelby receiving detention. But he headed inside, anyway, heading for Shelby's classroom. Sure enough, there she was, still sitting at her desk, along with a couple of other kids.

Luke threw open the door, going inside. "What's going on?" he asked Mrs. Avery, who stood up from her desk as all heads were directed towards him. It was a little embarrassing, to say the least. She told the kids not to move from their seats or say a word as she headed for the door, having Luke step outside.

"I called your place and left a message with Caesar. I thought you would have gotten it," she explained.

"I've been out running errands, half the day. What's going on? Why isn't Shelby outside with the rest of her class?"

Mrs. Avery placed her hands, upside down, behind her. She glanced at the floor before looking up at him. "Shelby got into a fight, today during lunch recess."

Luke stared at the woman. "You sure you got the right kid?"

She nodded. "When you told me Shelby might be getting bullied, I tried to keep my eye out for anything of the like. Well, I hadn't noticed any of the other kids picking on her."

"But obviously, someone was," he pointed out. "I mean, she hasn't been wanting to go to school."

"She also hasn't been wanting to go out to recess," she added. "It seems the bully isn't in our class. He's in another class, and has been bullying a lot of the students, including two little boys Shelby hangs around with during recess."

Luke nodded, "Ethan and Alan?"

"I believe so, yes. According to the boys, the other boy bothers them, shoves them, and calls them, names, including to Shelby, and so Shelby finally shoved him, back. The two ended up in a fist fight. Surprised me, actually. Thankfully, one of her friends came and got us, and we were able to break them up."

"Aw jeez." Luke dropped his face into his hands. He lifted his head, apologizing for his daughter's sudden behavior, and explained, briefly, what had been going on at home with not wanting to speak to her mom.

"We were planning on the other kid meeting with Miss Evans, our school's guidance counselor. Maybe it'll be good for Shelby if she meets with her, too."

"She won't talk right away," he pointed out.

Mrs. Avery shrugged. "How ever long it takes, I'm sure Miss Evans can get to the bottom of things. She's very well liked here at this school, among the students and teachers."

"Okay," Luke agreed, unsure, but whatever would help, he was for.

"Detention is over at three-thirty. You may pick her up then."

Luke thanked her before watching Mrs. Avery head back inside the classroom. Taking a really long breath, he then headed outside, to wait for Shelby in his truck. With the parent traffic gone, Luke was able to move closer to the school building.

He waited the whole thirty minutes, thinking of what to do. What would his own father do? Luke never thought to lay down the no fighting rule. Shelby fighting? She was prone to lashing out at others, including towards him, but Madison never mentioned Shelby actually fist fighting someone. That sounded crazy to him. But here it was, and where did Shelby pick it up from? She had to have learned it from someone. Or, maybe it was just because no one else had ever fought back. Whatever the reason, Luke didn't know what to do at this point as several thoughts raced through his mind.

Luke held an elbow on his door, resting his head against his fingers. This probably wasn't a territory Lorelai could help him with as he couldn't see Rory ever getting into a fist fight with someone. Luke definitely couldn't ask his sister as her kid was staying with him because of fighting. Letting out a tired sigh, Luke slouched back in his seat, placing his hands on top of his head, his hat pushed up a bit when it touched the back of the seat.

Eventually, Mrs. Avery brought the kids out in a single file line to wait for the parents.

Luke took a deep breath, letting it out, before opening his door. Stepping out of the truck, he called over to get Shelby's attention. When she looked up, he motioned for her with his head. Shelby began walking towards him, watching her feet as she held onto the straps of her backpack. Luke had her climb in on his side before sliding back under the wheel. Not a word was said between either of them. Halfway home, Luke did end up switching on the radio, hoping some country tunes might help ease the tension. He had no idea just how helpful it would be. George Strait's song, "Love Without End, Amen" was just starting and it couldn't have come on at a better time.

Luke rarely got into trouble as a boy as he usually kept to himself, most of the time just like Shelby did now. But as a kid sometimes would, he had a few slip-ups that Luke had to face up to with his own father. He could probably guess Shelby was terrified at this point, waiting to see what Luke would say or do. Now that he thought about it, had Shelby ever been disciplined for anything? Sometimes, not being able to speak up for herself, might lead to either Shelby either being blamed for something or there was a possibly maybe she never got to tell her side of an event that had happened, so she would've had to take whatever consequences of whatever a foster parent or someone gave.

When Luke pulled up to the diner, he turned off the truck, but left the keys in the ignition. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Shelby, who hadn't moved, not even to remove her seat belt.

"What happened today, kiddo?"

Shelby stared at the floorboard, not saying anything. Not one motion, either.

Luke undid his own seat belt, to turn in his seat. He leaned an arm on the back of the seat, behind her. "I'm not mad, Shell. Just worried. This doesn't sound like you at all."

Holding her arms around her backpack, Shelby squeezed it to her chest as she sucked on her lip. Luke tilted his head to the side, studying her. It was heartbreaking to watch his daughter, probably struggling to find her words.

"I can't help unless you tell me what's on your mind," he told her, gently. Tears were starting to fill up in her eyes. So, Luke moved his arm from the back of the seat, using it to undo her seat belt, having her move her backpack out of the way, so he could move Shelby onto his knee and wrapped both of his arms around her waist. "I hate having to make you talk, you know that, but if what's bugging you is causing you to hurt another kid, we need to discuss this." Shelby tried to lay her head against her dad, but Luke wouldn't let her. It was hard when it came to being the tough dad with his little girl. "You can take your time, there's no rush. Just tell me what's going on so we can fix this."

He saw her mouth open, a little which Luke rubbed her upper arm, affectionately. "Toby…" she managed to squeak out, but was having trouble getting the rest out.

"Toby? Is that the boy who was picking on you?"

Shelby gave a slow nod, staring at the radio. "He...was…" Her lip was quivering so she sucked it in.

"It's okay, kiddo. You're doing good," Luke continued to rub her arm.

"He was making fun of…" she took a deep breath per Luke's request before she continued. "Making fun of E-ten's and Alan's haircut. He...he always make fun of us and when w-we try to walk away, h-he pushed..." Shelby started taking another breath after each word. "...us...and...no...le'...us...up. The tears were starting to leak out by this point.

Luke swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat. "I'm sorry to hear that, kiddo."

"I...no...wan'...to-to-to hur'...him. He...no 'top."

"Toby wouldn't stop?" he repeated.

Shelby shook her head.

"So you hit him?" Luke asked.

She shook her head. "I pushed hi-him firs'. He...hi'...me...back...so...I hi' him...back. Ten we jus' kep' hi'...ting ea' o'ter."

"You kept hitting each other until your teacher came over?"

Again, she nodded.

Quickly thinking of what to say, Luke told her, "Well, what Toby was doing wasn't very nice, but hitting him wasn't nice, either, kiddo." Now that his focus was a little more clear, Luke could see purple splotches beside her right eye. "I wish you would have told me, I would have talked to your teacher so this wouldn't have happened." It looked like there seemed to be more as Shelby sucked on her lip, again. "What is it, kiddo?" This time, she remained silent, not saying a word. "Like I said, I'm not mad at you. I will be postponing getting your game, this weekend, to next weekend instead, and I'm taking your Gameboy away until after Monday."

Her head shot up at the mention of her Gameboy being taken away. "No," she cried out, producing even more tears.

"Fighting will not be tolerated, Shelby, for any reason, and there will be consequences. There will also be no TV until after Monday, with the exception of movies. I'm sure you'll be watching movies over at Lorelai's house, but there will be no _Pokemon_ , tomorrow morning. Understood?"

Shelby looked away, the tears pouring down both sides of her face.

"I'm not doing this to be mean, kiddo. I need you to understand there are consequences to the things you do. If you don't do your chores or your homework, there won't be any TV or video games. The same goes for fighting or doing something you're not supposed to." He heard her sniff in a few times. "Hey," Luke moved his head to look into her tear-stained face, "I love you. I hate having to do this, but I have to teach you these things. In fact, I've been on your end, a few times, when I was your age. So I know how it must feel. It'll be okay, though. I promise."

Shelby glanced up at him with just her eyes.

Luke smiled for her and squeezed Shelby to him, in a loving hug. He held her for a while as Shelby cried it out. Once she was feeling up to it, they finally stepped out and headed inside, which Luke wanted to see the full damage Toby had done. Not only were there bruises around her eye, Shelby had a few on her shoulders and chest and admitted to giving him, a few bruises, herself. They weren't bad, though and were already fading. Thankfully kids didn't have a whole lot of strength to really do much damage. Another thing, Luke noticed, was after that, Shelby had started avoiding Jess, not wanting to even look at her cousin. Sure she never talked to him, she still acknowledged him and once even tried to get him to read to her since she'd seen him, reading. Of course, Jess had refused, stating he wasn't about to read a "kiddie book" out loud to a little kid and was still referring to Shelby as squirt. It never made the kid ignore him, especially once Luke assured it wasn't anything personal why Jess acted that way towards her.

After Shelby left with Lorelai and Rory, the next day, Luke decided to finally confront Jess about it, asking if there was anything going on between the cousins.

"How the hell should I know?" Jess shrugged it off. "Not like the kid says anything to me, anyway."

"You two seemed fine, Thursday. Now, all of a sudden, Shelby can't even look at ya?"

"Why don't you ask her, then?"

"I did, she won't tell me anything. That's why I'm asking you," he told him.

"Well, ya got me. And besides, I could care less." Even though Jess told him he didn't show much care for his cousin, or interest for that matter, Shelby had mentioned she liked him. Up to this point, anyway, and now that he thought about it, the night Luke had come up to find them both reading after hearing movement from inside, did seem suspicious. He got nowhere with his nephew. Something was going on, but neither one was talking.

The sleepover ended up being a success, despite Luke being nervous. He called a few times to see how things were going. Shelby was fine for the most part. She felt nervous at bedtime, but Rory showed her that she wasn't that far away. She even slept with her head at the foot of her bed for the younger girl. Shelby did end up having an accident along with a few bad dreams from sleeping in a new place, but Lorelai laid with her until Shelby fell back to sleep once she was cleaned up, then headed back to bed, herself.

Sunday morning, Shelby was the first to wake up, being used to her dad's routine. She had headed into Rory's room, waking the teenaged girl and the two ended up laying there and talking until Lorelai woke up, an hour or so later. Luke couldn't help feel relieved the trial sleepover was a success. In fact, Shelby wanted to do it again.

When Monday came, Luke took Shelby to school so he could speak to Mrs. Avery again, about Toby. She assured him they would do what they can, now that they were aware of the problem, but since they had dozens of other students to also look out for, the teachers could only do so much. Shelby didn't want Luke to leave, clinging to his leg so he couldn't. After some assurement and suggesting she stay within a teacher's view during recess, for now, he was able to leave her. Not that Luke wanted to leave, himself. Taking her dad's suggestion to heart, Shelby made Ethan and Alan move their spot closer to where the teachers sat. The farthest Shelby was willing to go was the monkey bars and the swings. Even with the teachers nearby, Toby still tried to mess with Shelby and her friends, especially when she wasn't trying to stick up for herself, now.

"Shell, just because you can't hit him, doesn't mean you can't stick up for yourself," Luke pointed out when she told him the kid was still messing with them, over dinner.

"Socking the kid would work a lot better," Jess pointed out.

Luke waved him off. "Don't listen to Jess," he told her and showed her what to do without needing to say anything. "Just stand up straight to the kid, look him in the eye until he decides to walk away. Works every time."

"Wow," Jess nodded as if in disbelief.

Luke looked over at him, again. "What?" he asked.

"That's exactly why we kept it a secret."

Luke looked at his nephew, slightly sideways, unsure what Jess was referring to. "What are you talking about? What secret?"

"Nothing," Jess replied into his drink.

"Jess." Now that it was said, Luke was not about to let things go. Jess tried to shrug it off.

Finally, after a lot of probing, he came out and said, "Fine. If you must know, when I heard some little punk was messing with the kid, I started showing her how to defend herself. I didn't think you would go for it, so the two of us did it when you weren't around. End of story." He continued eating.

Luke looked over at Shelby, who was staring at hers. "Shelby, is this true?" He saw her head nod without making eye contact. Turning back to Jess, Luke asked, "So you told your six-year-old cousin it was alright to hit another kid?"

"A kid who was messing with her, yes," he answered, honestly, for a change.

"Jess, you don't tell your six-year-old cousin something like that. What if Shelby had broken his nose or something?"

"That would be bonus points right there," Jess pointed at him.

"No it wouldn't, it would be detention for two days, which is what Shelby got for it. Possibly even suspended from school."

The boy shrugged. "Keeps them from messing with you."

"There are other, _better_ ways than fighting," Luke assured his nephew.

"Whatever you say," he replied. "I'm just trying to help the kid out."

It dawned on the guy. "So, what you're saying is," Luke couldn't help smirk. "You do care about your cousin."

"Uh, no. I was just showing her, she has to fend for herself since no one else is gonna do it." Jess took a bite of his dinner while Luke continued to smirk at him.

"Sure."

" _I mean it_ ," he added when Jess noticed.

"Yeah, I get it," Luke nodded.

Jess glared across the table at his uncle before getting up. Grabbing his jacket, he stormed out of the apartment, replying with, "out," when Luke asked where he was going.

Luke turned back to Shelby, who was still watching her food.

"Well, it looks like you're having more luck with him than I am, at least," he told her. Mostly, it was an out loud thought to himself.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Madison stopped by as she said she would, one afternoon, when Shelby had gotten home from school. At first, she acted shy around the woman, hiding behind her dad's leg, but after a minute, Shelby went over and gave the woman a hug.

"My, Shelby. You are growing, aren't you?" she told the little girl.

The little girl smiled up at the woman.

"I brought you something." Madison picked up a wide, square-shaped present, wrapped in birthday wrapping paper. She held it out to Shelby, who took it, looking up at her dad. Luke encouraged Shelby to open it, still curious what it was Madison thought he would like, too.

Shelby ripped off the wrapping paper, revealing what looked like a photo album. She picked it up from where she had set it on the floor to unwrap.

"What is that, Shell?" Luke asked.

She shrugged her shoulders, holding the large book in her hands that was almost as big as her. It was quite thick, with a blue covering. Both the front and back had a gold bordering. On the front, also in gold, it read, _Shelby Danes_.

"I organized most of the pictures I still had, in this scrapbook. Took me several months, but I figured since I can't give you her first years," Madison looked up at Luke, "I'd do the next best thing."

"Thank you. I appreciate it," he smiled. His heart was fluttering with excitement as he looked down at the scrapbook in his daughter's hands.

"You're welcome," she returned the smile.

"Should we give it a look, Shell?"

Shelby passed the scrapbook up to her dad, who took it, setting it on the counter. Next, Luke lifted Shelby up onto one of the stools, taking a seat on the one beside her. He offered the stool on Shelby's left to Madison, who thanked him. Luke opened the book to the first page. There was a picture of the one he recognized as Shelby, a few days old. The page was decorated with baby things, with Shelby's name printed on the bottom of the page and how old she was.

"Ta' me?" Shelby pointed at it, softly where only Luke could hear.

"Yeah, that's you, kiddo," Luke told her with a smile.

"You were a cutie," Madison added.

Shelby stared up at her, not saying a word.

On the back of the first page were more pictures from that same day, including one of Rachel holding Shelby.

"Sometimes, I like to get one of the parents in case the kid asks about who their real parents were. Gotta know where you come from, you know?" she explained to Luke. "Of course, Shelby never did ask, but I'm sure you had some wonder, huh?" Madison turned to Shelby.

She nodded, which Luke rubbed her back.

The three continued to look through the memories of their little Shelby. Luke kept up a smile throughout the whole time, feeling his eyes, moist just as they had done the first time Madison showed him. Some were ones he already seen while there was others he hadn't seen. One page in particular caught him off guard.

"Wait...what?" He stared at a sports decorated page and at pictures of Shelby dressed in a sports uniform. Luke was at a loss for words. "Shell, how come you never told me you already played T-ball?"

"You never assed," she replied in his ear.

"When Shelby was four, she stayed with a foster mom who liked to have the kids stay busy. The kids had to pick something, a class, a sport, something that would keep them off the couch and bored-free. Shelby chose T-ball," Madison explained. "Even though she wasn't very good, Shelby seemed to have fun. Right, Shelby?"

Shelby shrugged one shoulder and reached up to whisper, "Too hard," to her dad.

"The foster dad couldn't help you?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"The foster mom is, _was_ single," Madison explained.

"Was?"

"She just got married, this past summer."

Luke nodded at that.

The door opened. They looked up to see Lorelai and Rory walk in.

"Oh. Are we interrupting something?" Rory was the one to ask.

"No, you're fine, Rory," Luke assured them and introduced Lorelai and Rory to Shelby's caseworker.

"So you're Lorelai?" Madison asked, eagerly, while shaking her hand.

"Yeah, that's me," she replied.

"I have heard so much about you and how much you've been involved with helping Shelby."

Lorelai smiled over at Shelby. "She's a good kid." Shelby held her arms up towards her which Lorelai bent over to give the kid, a hug.

"So, are you two getting married?" Madison asked, catching both Luke and Lorelai, off guard.

"What?" They exchanged confused looks between each other.

"We're just friends," Lorelai explained.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I just assumed since…"

"Yeah, just friends," Luke added, feeling awkward, now. He felt himself go bright red in the face.

Lorelai changed the subject, curious what they were looking at when they came in. When Madison mentioned it was a scrapbook she had made of Shelby, her and Rory wanted to look, as well. So they moved from the counter to a table, starting over. It was great to see the kid from when she was younger, but some of the photos reminded them how much more shy, Shelby used to be, huddled in the backseat of Madison's car, or behind or under furniture. The kid sure had come a long way, so far. It made Luke's heart shatter all over again.

Now that fall was here and tourist season was over, Luke had a little more time to take off, to spend with Shelby. They started going back to the park and playing catch, together. Shelby seemed to be getting better the more they played. She was catching more of her dad's throws. She still missed some, here and there, but not as much when they were starting out. In fact, Luke felt compelled to ask once more if Shelby would like to play on a team.

"You're doing really well, kiddo. Don't you want to play on a team, again?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"Did you have fun, the first time?"

She shook her head. "Too hard," Shelby reminded her dad.

"Well, I'm sure it was because you didn't have anybody helping ya." Luke really wanted to get his kid into something that would keep her active, learn skills, and meet more kids. "Remember, I said I would try and see if I could coach your team, and even if I couldn't, I could try and assistant coach."

Shelby stared at the floorboards of her dad's truck.

"You don't have to. But it might be fun to try it. Once the season starts, you have to follow through 'til the end, you can't quit halfway through. But afterwards, if you don't like it, I won't ask you again."

Shelby looked up at her dad and nodded. "Okay."

Luke glanced at her, in surprise. "Really? Are you sure?"

Again, she nodded.

"Alright then. I'll look into it and get ya on a team." Luke couldn't help feel like a proud father. The very next day, he made a few calls and headed down to get Shelby registered for T-ball. Since it was last minute, all of the coaching positions were filled, but when he called the coach Shelby was assigned to, he asked him if the guy didn't mind an assistant coach, explaining about Shelby being shy. The guy didn't mind at all. In fact, he welcomed it, reminding him their first practice was a week from Tuesday.

Besides playing catch, Shelby was back to being her dad's little assistant when Lorelai asked him to look at the stage for her Booster Club's fashion show. He showed her how to fix dumb choices others can make while putting things together. Afterwards, the two stayed to watch and make sure the stage would hold up, the whole time. Since Shelby was the smallest in the audience Luke lifted her up onto his shoulders just as Lorelai and her mother were walking out, onstage which she clapped for. Lorelai at least, that is. Shelby didn't know the older lady next to her was Lorelai's mother.

After the show, as Luke was fixing to leave, he was approached by one of the mothers in Lorelai's Booster Club. After a quick chat, Luke gave her directions on the quickest route back to Hartford. Apparently, Lorelai had saw them and mentioned it to him, the very next day, and said it would be strange if the two were to date. Luke explained to her, he was a grown man and could date who he wanted. He could see how jealous Lorelai seemed to be, though and couldn't help smirk and snicker to himself as she left the diner in a huff.

Early, one morning, Luke and Lorelai sat down while Shelby ate her breakfast. He had promised Lorelai, a few months back, that she could sit him down and pick his brain since her and Sookie were starting to make plans on their dream of owning their own inn, and Luke, who owned his own diner, already knew a few things. Jess came over to top off Lorelai's coffee and ask if he could be excused to leave for school.

Letting Jess leave, Luke asked, "You mind taking Shelby to school?"

"Yep," he replied, already heading out the door, meaning he didn't want to. It was worth a shot, but Luke already knew the boy most likely wouldn't. When he was gone, Luke asked if Lorelai and Sookie had found a place yet. Lorelai reminded him about Rachel finding and showing her the old Dragonfly Inn before she asked who taught him what he knew. Eventually, Luke glanced at his watch and realized Shelby was going to be late for school. The two had been talking so much they lost track of time. So he had to rush Shelby to school and sign her in, late, in the front office.

A few days later, Lorelai and Rory came by the diner with a visitor, whom Luke rushed over to greet before re-attending to the broken toaster he was trying to fix. Jess came downstairs, stating he was going to break it even more. He heard the visitor call out, asking about Jess.

"It's Liz's kid," he called back as Luke made his way over with the coffee, having Jess follow. "Jess, this is Mia. She owns the Independence Inn." The only response from the boy was a "huh" which Luke explained was a greeting in slacker language.

"You don't need me down here, do ya?" Jess didn't even wait for a response before heading back upstairs.

"Just go tell your cousin to come down here," he told him, quickly adding, "and be nice about it!" Luke then turned back to Mia, to apologize.

"Oh, please. Forget it," she said. "You weren't exactly a talkative boy yourself when you were his age."

Lorelai piped in, "That's right. You knew Luke as a boy."

"I can't imagine Luke as a boy," said Rory.

"Can we...change the subject?" asked Luke, starting to feel uncomfortable.

But Mia continued. "He would help people carry groceries home."

"Oh, how very boy scout-y of you," Rory told him.

"For a quarter a bag."

"Oh, how very John Birch Society-y of you," Lorelai added.

"He was never without his skateboard for a time," Mia remembered.

"Were you any good?"

"I could hold my own," Luke replied.

"And there was that year you wore the same shirt everywhere you went."

He quickly tried to change the subject. "I don't remember that."

"Must have been something flannel," Lorelai guessed.

"No, it was from that TV show. That famous one," Mia said, trying to remember what it was as she stared up at Luke.

"It's not important," Luke shook his head, hoping she wouldn't remember and they could move on. When was Luke ever that lucky, though? Shortly after, it came to Mia.

"Star Trek! That's it."

Lorelai and Rory just about burst out in laughter.

"You were a Trekkie?" Rory asked, in surprise.

"I was not a Trekkie," he tried to deny.

Lorelai pointed out, "I do believe denying you were a Trekkie is a violation of the prime directive." Rory added to it by making a reference from the show.

"It was a gift from my aunt," Luke tried to cover it up, "I wore it to make her happy."

"I never wanted to make any aunt of mine that happy."

Mia was smiling. "Did I say something I shouldn't?" she asked innocently, clearly enjoying embarrassing the poor guy.

"No, Mia, that's okay," Lorelai assured her, "except I have to cancel all I have scheduled for the next three months, 'cause I'll still be laughing my ass off."

"Now I can see where Shelby's obsessed liking towards _Pokemon_ comes from," Rory pointed out, teasingly.

"Well, you know what they say. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree."

"Shelby?" Mia asked.

Taylor had come into the diner, stating he needed to talk to Luke. So he let the girls let Mia know who Shelby was while him and Taylor went at it with each other about Jess being the prime suspect in the phony murder in front of Taylor's store. Not getting anywhere with the younger man, Taylor stormed out of the diner, stopping long enough to greet Mia.

When Luke went back to trying to repair the toaster, Shelby appeared around the corner, being shy, of course. He smiled and went over to kneel to her level, placing a hand on the wall, for support.

"Hey, kiddo. There's someone I'd like ya to meet. She knew me since I was your age. She's very sweet," he added, shortly after.

Shelby tried to turn her hat around.

"Can we do without the hat, just for a minute? Then it could go right back on. Okay?"

She gave a nervous nod.

"Come on," he motioned with his head. Luke stood up and led Shelby over to where the girls were talking about the day they met as he held onto her hand. "Mia, I'd like you to meet Shelby. Shell, this is Mia. She owns the inn where Lorelai works."

"Hello, Shelby," Mia replied.

Suddenly, Shelby sidestepped behind her dad's legs, hiding her face in the back of them.

"So she's yours, Luke?"

"Yeah. Rachel's her mother," he told her.

"Never would have suspected you both to have a child, together."

Luke shrugged. "It wasn't planned. But, none the less, I'm glad Shelby's here."

"She's a beauty," Mia smiled around him at the little girl.

Luke thanked her.

"You and Rachel both seemed so close. I never understood why it couldn't work out for the two of you." Right as Mia had said that, the door opened, once again and it wasn't Taylor, back for a second wind. Rachel entered the diner, back from her trip. She was holding what looked like a glass snow globe in her hands, and had overheard.

"Oh, sorry," she managed to say when Rachel looked over at the group. "Did I come at a bad time?"

It was Mia who answered. "No, dear. How are you?" she asked, in a cheerful disposition.

"I'm good, Mia. It's nice to see you, again."

"I'm really sorry..."

Rachel cut her off, politely. "No need. It's okay, really," she smiled. "I just came by to see my daughter and give her something I picked up while I was in Africa." Rachel held up the snow globe, turning her head to look where Shelby was still hiding behind Luke's legs. "How about it, peanut? Do you mind if we talk?"

Shelby didn't move her head. Not at first. She still hadn't talked to her mother, nor did either one of her parents knew why.

"Peanut, I missed you. I don't even know what I did to upset you," Rachel said. "I told you I'd be back, see?" She gave the little girl, a heartfelt look.

Luke looked between the two, stopping on Shelby, not saying a word. He heard Lorelai tell Mia, what was going on.

"I was hoping we might go somewhere and talk, if that's okay, peanut."

Luke felt her grip tighten on his pants legs. He rubbed a hand over the top of her head. It's okay, Shell."

They waited a couple minutes before Rachel accepted Shelby not wanting to talk and tried to offer the snow globe to her. She still wouldn't move at first until finally, Shelby let go and slowly made her way over to take it. Rachel kneeled to her level, holding the snow globe out to her.

"I thought maybe we can start a tradition, together, where every time I come back from a trip, I would bring you a snow globe from where I've been. How does that sound?"

Shelby stared inside the glass dome, not saying a word.

"Do you like it, peanut?"

Luke noticed from behind that Shelby had tensed up.

"Peanut, what's wrong?" he heard Rachel ask.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the snow globe was smashed against the tiled floor in a million pieces. It caught everyone off guard and got the attention of the customers on the other side of the diner. The impact caused Shelby to flinch backwards right as Luke told her, "Shelby, don't move!" He lifted her off the floor and set Shelby on the counter since she was barefoot, something Luke constantly reminded her not to be whenever Shelby was down there.

Luke yelled for Caesar to bring a broom before turning back to Shelby, who was holding her foot. Tears were in her eyes, as well. "What's wrong, kiddo? Did you step on a piece of glass?" He held her foot by her heel, examining the bottom. "Caesar, come on!" he yelled once more.

Caesar came running from the kitchen, carrying a broom. With Caesar sweeping up the mess, Luke rushed in the back to grab the first aid kit. When he returned, Shelby was pushing Rachel away.

"Rachel, I think you should probably leave," Luke told her, gently.

Rachel looked over at Shelby, who was now cradling her hurt foot, not wanting to leave her daughter while she was in distress.

"Don't make this harder than it is."

Hesitantly, she forced a nod as Rachel watched Shelby. It was apparent she was trying to keep from crying, herself. Luke felt Shelby grab onto his arm. He glanced at her before switching back to Rachel.

"I need to get this glass out of her foot," he rushed her, though it made him feel guilty for doing so.

Rachel turned and slowly left the diner.

Luke set the box on the counter and opened it up, searching around for a pair of tweezers. When Luke found them, he lifted her foot again and, very carefully, tried to grab a hold of the glass shard that was stuck. The moment he started pulling, Shelby flinched her foot out of his hold.

Lowering his head to hers, Luke assured her, "I know it hurts, kiddo, but I have to get it out." He tried to take a hold of her foot again. Each time he gently, but firmly tugged, Shelby would flinch.

Finally, Lorelai rushed over to Luke's side, wrapping Shelby in her arms. "You need to hold still for your dad, sweetheart," she told the little girl, "otherwise he can't get the glass out." Lorelai comforted Shelby while Luke held onto her foot, firmly. Both of them talked to Shelby, softly as Luke tried to get the glass out of her foot. It was difficult considering she kept moving it. Restraining Shelby in her arms, Lorelai held her leg pinned so Luke could do what he needed to do. The tears were pouring down the sides of her face as Lorelai spoke gently to her.

It took a moment as Luke fiddled with the piece of glass, thankful it hadn't completely gone in. It was still deep enough it took longer than he would have liked. Lorelai suggested Luke get some warm, soapy water and soak the area, that it would soften the skin enough where it might help pull the glass out. So Luke tried the suggestion, soaking one of his rags under warm water with soap, and brought it back to rub around the shard. Once that was done, he tried once more, holding Shelby's ankle firmly. After Luke managed a few tugs, he was able to pull the shard out, setting it on a napkin.

Shelby was inaudibly crying into Lorelai's chest.

With the shard now out, Luke focused on cleaning the cut the glass had made, unscrewing the cap from a bottle of peroxide. "Make sure you have a good grip on her," he warned Lorelai before warning Shelby. "I'm gonna clean your cut, now, kiddo. It's gonna hurt a lot, but that means it's doing its job. Okay?" He set a cotton ball on top of the bottle, quickly tipping it upside down. By this point, the customers had left which Luke assured their meals were on the house, apologizing. His attention was mostly on his distressed kid, though. Setting the bottle of peroxide on the counter, he lifted her foot again, giving Shelby a head's up before touching the soaked cotton to the open wound. She had tensed up before it even touched, but kicked when it did. Luke knew that would happen and managed to keep a firm grip on her ankle.

Lorelai was still holding onto her, as well. "It's okay, sweetie. It's cleaning your cut out so it won't get infected," she assured the little girl, who was now biting down on her lip and squeezing her eyes, shut.

Luke watched the cut fill up with what looked like foam. He used his thumb to massage the side of her ankle, hating the fact Shelby had to go through all of this. Broken glass impaling one's foot was never any fun. Once the cut was cleaned out, Luke covered it up with a bandage.

"There. All done, kiddo," he finally announced.

Lorelai stared over at him. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you gonna kiss it?"

"Why would I kiss her foot?" Luke questioned, staring up at the woman, in confusion.

"You're supposed to kiss the boo-boos after you bandage them," she pointed out.

"Not when they're on her foot."

Lorelai let out an annoyed groan towards the ceiling. "You are so stubborn." She then pushed him out of the way and lifted Shelby's foot to kiss it herself. "There. All better?" she smiled at Shelby, who shook her head. "No? Why not?"

"Because even Shelby knows, a kiss doesn't make a cut heal faster. Right, Shell?"

Shelby nodded that time.

"You are turning your kid into a miniature version of you, I hope you know that," Lorelai told him. Shelby did lean forward to whisper something to her, making Lorelai smile again. "It helped, a little?"

She nodded.

"Okay. I'll accept that." Lorelai snickered, leaning in towards her to make Shelby giggle which was a success.

Luke watched, relieved to see Shelby happy again. "You feeling better, kiddo?"

Shelby nodded over at her dad.

"So, what happened, Shelby? Why did you break your mom's present?" Lorelai decided to ask.

Shelby dropped her gaze as if ashamed for what happened.

Luke reached for her hand that was beside her, on the counter, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You're not in trouble, kiddo. But this has been going on for almost a month, now. Why are you so upset with your mom?"

Lorelai softly rubbed her other arm. "You know your mom loves you, and cares about you. She just has to leave, sometimes. But she always comes back."

Shelby was beginning to tense up and her eyes were filling up with fresh tears as she stared at her lap. Together, the two tried to gently coax her into letting them in, giving Shelby enough time to speak. Her chest started heaving and a tear even escaped down her cheek. Just when Luke was about to give in and let Shelby know they were backing off, Rory suddenly blurted out.

"Shelby's upset because her mom keeps upsetting you."

Both Luke and Lorelai looked over to see Rory had stood up from her seat she had been still sitting in.

"What?" Luke was at a loss what the teenaged girl meant.

"Shelby told me she overheard you yelling on the phone to her mom, and how upset you were," Rory explained.

"Rory, Shelby's been talking to you about all this?" Lorelai asked. Nobody had had success with getting Shelby to talk, not even the guidance counselor at her school.

She shook her head. "Just once, when Shelby came to my room that morning she slept over. She had me promise to not say anything to anyone." Rory looked over at Shelby to tell her, "I'm sorry, Shelby."

Luke stared at Rory, in shock. Confusion also sunk in. Wasn't Shelby upstairs with Jess, that night? He turned back to his daughter, to confront her about it. "Is this true, Shell?" he asked, gently, but firmly.

Shelby nodded at her lap, not lifting her gaze.

"I thought you were with Jess, that night?"

She nodded again, bringing up more confusion. Then he remembered, Luke hadn't gone upstairs, right away after the phone call. He wasn't sure how long it took him, but figured it was long enough for Shelby to go back inside the apartment and resume training.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Shelby was chewing on her lip.

"You're not in trouble," he assured her. "Just tell me why you didn't come to me about this."

"Ta'," she managed to utter, softly, so only he and Lorelai could hear.

"That, what, kiddo?"

"I be in trouble."

That time, Lorelai spoke up. "In trouble for what, sweetheart?"

Shelby didn't respond that time.

"In trouble for eavesdropping?" Luke asked, which she nodded and assured her she wouldn't be. "So you were upset with your mom because you thought she had upset me?"

Shelby nodded, still not lifting her head. She gripped the edge of the counter, instead. "I no like when you mad," she admitted.

"Do I scare you when I'm upset?"

She shook her head.

"You just don't like when other people upsets me," he guessed.

She nodded that time.

"You didn't get mad at me when your dad and I got into that fight," Lorelai pointed out.

"You never get mad at Jess, either," Luke added.

Shelby managed to look up at her dad, to softly tell him, "You say no take i' per-sun-ly because i' no us."

"And what about me, sweetheart?" Lorelai asked.

Shelby shrugged. "I no know," she shook her head.

"So, it's just your mom?"

She nodded.

"Sweetheart, I'm sure your mom wasn't trying to upset your dad. I don't know what was said, but what I do know is that she does love you. Sometimes, grown-ups fight when they disagree and horrible things get said that nobody means."

"Mom no le' Daddy see me," said Shelby.

Luke let out a silent sigh. She did hear everything. "Your mom and me, we don't know everything, kiddo," he told her. "Sometimes we make dumb decisions. I make them, and yes, your mom made one and I am still mad about that. That doesn't mean I wouldn't give her another chance to be in your life if that's what she wants. I know she regrets it and I will eventually be able to let it go. It just takes time. Do you understand, kiddo?"

Shelby stared up at her dad for a moment before nodding. "I sorry."

"It's okay. Just, next time, come talk to me. Please?"

She nodded once more. Shelby then held out her arms to him which Luke hugged her to him.

"You feel better?" he asked once Luke let go, receiving another nod. "That's good." He could probably guess a huge burden was probably lifted up off the little girl's shoulder. It felt like some of the burden Luke felt was lifted off of him, now that he knew what had been bothering Shelby. Little did he know how the week was only getting started.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Luke wasn't sure what to do, following the confrontation with Shelby about what had been bothering her. He wasn't even sure what to say to Rachel. He knew they should go over there and have Shelby apologize, maybe him, too. When he approached Shelby to discuss it, she hid under the bed and refused to come out, so Luke left her alone.

Tuesday night came, bringing another town meeting. Town meetings had become a favorite of Shelby's, because most of the stuff that was discussed would cause her to giggle. Luke had to admit, some of it was pretty funny, especially whenever Lorelai was late and would confuse Taylor before he changed the subject back to what they were discussing. However, this particular time, Lorelai was actually on time, or so they thought.

The meeting ended up starting earlier than usual which Luke pointed out, annoyed. Taylor tried to make excuses which backfired before Miss Patty suggested he'd come clean and admit that Luke wasn't invited since they were discussing recent events that has happened since Jess moved in. Someone even pointed out he was more than likely the reason Shelby got into a fight with their son. Luke tried to argue he was handling things and that there wasn't a problem. He had so much stuff on his plate that he did not want to have to argue with Taylor or even Bootsy, for that matter, who had jumped in. But he did anyways and nobody was even listening to him. With his mind on the townspeople Luke never saw what came next.

"'Top it!"

The whole place grew silent as all eyes turned to the little girl standing in front of her seat. Shelby's face turned the brightest shade of red Luke had ever seen it and she was frozen stiff as a board. Lorelai gave her back, a comforting rub before standing to her feet and stuck up for Luke, as well.

Grabbing Shelby up into his arms, Luke took back his offer to keep the diner open after the meeting and carried her out of the studio, taking Shelby home.

Up in the apartment, Luke paced around the room, trying to calm Shelby's nerves, running a hand along her back as he spoke soft comforting words to her, all the while, taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself down, as well. How had he gotten into this mess? All Luke wanted to do was help someone out and be a good father. How did all this drama pile up like this?

After a while, Luke managed to get them both calmed down and get Shelby ready for bed.

First chance he got Wednesday, Luke called Madison, once again.

"I'm losing my mind," he began into the phone and began ranting everything that had been happening without stopping to catch his breath. Luke could hear the woman try and get a word in, but his words just kept pouring out. Finally, he ended with the same thing he started with, "I am losing my mind, here."

Things were silent for a minute.

"Uh, Madison?"

"I was just making sure you were finished. I thought if I opened my mouth, I'd get interrupted again." She snickered as if it were a joke, so Luke forced one as well. "So, Shelby's having a hard time, again, huh?"

"Yeah, and I think it's because of the fight her mom and I had over the phone," he explained.

"That can seem scary for a child such as Shelby to overhear," she said, in sympathy.

Luke shrugged, "I don't know what to do. She won't talk about it when I suggested we'd go over and apologize."

"Yes, Shelby has never been confident in confrontations after upsetting behaviors. She gets really ashamed, sometimes, whenever she feels she's in trouble or the possibility of someone being angry with her."

Luke shrugged a second time. "What should I do? Rachel seems just as hurt about all this as Shelby is. Before all of this, I've never even seen Rachel shed a tear."

"Well, it seems like I was wrong about Rachel," Madison said, coming to the realization.

"What do you mean?"

He heard Madison take in a breath, letting it out, softly. "Luke, when I filled you in about Rachel releasing her parental rights, I never intended on things getting this ugly. I mean, from what I've seen of you, so far, I didn't think there would be a heated argument between the two of you."

Luke roughly rubbed at the back of his neck. "Yeah, some things got said that I wish I hadn't, especially with Shelby looming just upstairs."

"That's the thing too, Luke," she added, remaining gentle with him. "You should have waited until Shelby wasn't home or when you and Rachel could sit down and discuss the matter, just the two of you."

Luke removed his hand from his neck and let out a tired sigh. "I know, but when she called to talk to Shelby…"

Madison interrupted him. "No excuses, Luke. No matter how angry you are with Rachel, you never say anything bad or hurtful to or around the kids, especially a kid like Shelby."

Confusion appeared across his face which sort of looked like the one Shelby sometimes would give. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"What I mean is, another habit I've noticed in Shelby is her protectiveness she gets towards others."

It still hadn't clicked for him. "Her protectiveness?"

"It used to be with Bailey," she explained. "Whenever it seemed like Bailey was being under attack, Shelby would get upset feelings towards whoever upset her. I'm seeing that with you, too, Luke. I noticed when I was out there, she was wearing her hat, backwards like you. Don't get me wrong, I think it's cute, but that also means you're gonna have to be careful what you say and do around her."

Luke stared at nothing in particular as he listened, silently kicking himself. He never thought of how his quick temper could affect Shelby.

Madison continued. "I know I said, you are Shelby's only remaining legal parent and you have one hundred percent legal authority over her well-being, that does not mean you and Rachel can't co-parent if she is willing to work with you. If not, you can pull the plug on the whole thing and tell her she has no part in your daughter's life, I still stand by what I said before. But if she is, and it's up to you if you want to do this, you both can work out an agreement of some kind. Shelby needs you both, Luke. In fact, now that Rachel has stepped back into her life, there really isn't going back to the way things were before she returned. Both of you need to sit down and come to an agreement, and I can direct you to some help with that, if need be. What with what's going on with your nephew, having someone there to help you with Shelby, will do you, wonders, trust me."

Luke rubbed a hand down his face, stopping over his eyes to rub them. "Yeah," he said in agreement, and dropped the hand onto the counter space behind him, to lean back on it. "Yeah. You're right."

"Listen, my parents divorced when I was a little older than Shelby. It was a bitter divorce and my mother was so angry she would complain and hate on my father, almost every single day, to the point the anger latched onto me when it had no reason to. Up until that point, my father loved us, kids, and always did the best he could, but because my mother was so angry with him, I became angry with him, as well. It wasn't until I was an adult, right after I got married were we able to reconcile, so my father was never able to walk me down the aisle. Don't let that happen to Shelby. I am so glad she not only has you, but was able to know her mom also. I did see some struggle with Rachel, and maybe at the time, she really did think putting her up for adoption was best for Shelby. Why she didn't tell you, I have no clue. Rachel shared nothing about you aside from the information from Shelby's birth certificate, so I could only assume. You see what I'm saying?"

Luke took another deep breath in, letting it out. "Yeah, I get what you're saying. I feel lousy, but I get it."

"Don't, Luke. You're not a lousy father. You're human and as humans, we do dumb stuff," she assured him. "Like I said, I have two kids, and I find myself having to go apologize to them. Once, I punished the wrong kid for something the other had done. I was so upset I didn't think straight. I felt so guilty, but it ended up being another lesson I could teach them."

He couldn't help feel better at the sound of Madison having similar problems like him. "I punished Shelby when she got into that fight with the kid who had been bullying her and her friends before I found out it was her cousin who told her to fight back. I must have apologized over fifty times."

"Well, Shelby still needs to know fighting isn't tolerated."

"True," Luke agreed with a slight one-shoulder shrug. "But, it wasn't like Shelby wanted to hit the kid, back. All the stuff she was holding in about her mom, I guess Toby was the last straw to make things run over."

"I hope things get better for her, for _all_ of you," Madison quickly added. "Things run more smoothly when everyone works together."

"They sure do," he answered towards the floor. Luke thanked his daughter's caseworker before bringing the conversation to an end. Once they said their good-byes, the two hung up. Luke took another deep breath in, letting it out. Guess the next step would be going over to speak with Rachel. He wasn't sure how she was doing since the snow globe incident, Saturday. He hadn't even called.

Around late morning, Luke closed down the diner for a couple hours and drove over to Rachel's apartment to see if she was home. Sure enough, Rachel answered the door when he knocked.

"Hey. I came to see how you were doing," he told her.

She shrugged. "I've been better."

"Mind if I come in?"

Rachel stepped to the side while holding onto the door. He stepped inside the apartment, moving out of the way so she could shut the door. Looking around the apartment, Luke took in his surroundings. There were photos in picture frames that she had taken of places she visited, some of people she either met or traveled with, and a bunch of Shelby from the past year. There were nick-nacks throughout the place on shelves and tables. The place practically screamed Rachel.

Over on the other side of the apartment, Luke could see through the sliding glass door where Shelby's bike was. Shelby had accidently left it there the last time she visited her mom and since Rachel was out of town, there had been no way of retrieving the bike until she returned.

Luke pointed it out, trying to make small talk.

Rachel had folded her arms, lightly, glancing at the floor. "You can take it if you want. I think her helmet's in her room."

He nodded, also looking towards the floor. "Yeah, Shelby really missed it. Got her to try t-ball. Her first practice is this afternoon."

"Oh," Rachel nodded at that. "Sounds like fun. Is she still having lessons with Miss Patty?"

"She's still getting used to her. So far, Miss Patty is teaching her music vocabulary and the history of music until Shelby's ready to sing," he explained.

Rachel nodded as things turned silent. It was awkwardly quiet for a moment as neither one said anything, looking everywhere but at each other.

After a couple minutes, Luke happened to glance over at the TV. The screen was on a pause state of who he recognized as the actress, Julia Roberts. He recognized the woman's character from one of Rachel's favorite movies, _Steel Magnolias_. Then it dawned on him. Why it didn't occur to him before was astounding.

Luke looked over at Rachel. "Did…?" he pointed over at the TV.

She looked up when he spoke, her gaze switching between him and the TV.

"Is Shelby named after Julia Roberts?" he asked, curious.

Rachel nodded. "I liked the name and I like this movie," she shrugged a little. "I don't know, Shelby just sounded like a good idea to me."

Luke nodded, twisting back towards the screen at the actress. "Shelby's a great name," he commented, turning back to her.

It helped Rachel to smile. "It is." Another minute or two went by before she added, "did you ever get the chance to see how Shelby and I decorated her room?"

Luke shifted, straightening up in interest. "Uh huh."

She motioned with her head for him to follow, and led Luke down the hall to the bedrooms, stopping at Shelby's door where a piece of paper was taped to the door where Shelby had made a sign for it that read, _Shelby's room_ , colored.

Rachel opened the door. Even though there was a faint light that peeked through the hard plastic, horizontal window blinds, she flipped on the lamp that was across the room, engulfing it in florescent light. Luke stood in the doorway as he scanned the room. The bed was made up with a green army camouflage bed set.

"The store was sold out of _Pokemon_ bed sheets so Shelby had to pick out another for her bed," she explained.

"Shelby picked that out?"

She nodded. "So, I suggested if she wanted her bedroom painted to match her bed since the landlord said we can paint the place anyway we'd like as long as we paint it back if I were to move. Shelby liked the idea so I asked my brother to come paint it. My sister gave Shelby, her kids' old desk so she draw or color, or work on homework," Rachel motioned her head over, across from the door, at a brown, wooden desk with three drawers. Across from the bed was a matching dresser that Rachel bought to match the desk. There was a magnetic, wooden train playset on the floor handed down from Rachel's sister's kids, along with a few other handed-down toys, along with a tub of Legos.

Beside the bed was a white nightstand with different colored drawers with a lamp that was decorated in _Pokemon_ stickers. The nightstand stood out from the rest of the room, not really matching the desk and dresser, but Shelby never seems to care if she matched or not.

"In all honestly, I wish our rooms were closer together." Rachel admitted as Luke scanned the small bedroom. He glanced out into the short hallway. On the other end was the master bedroom. To him, it didn't seem far away, but he figured to Shelby, it was.

Luke looked back at her. "Lorelai's working on that," he assured her and explained about Shelby sleeping over with Lorelai and Rory.

"That's good," she forced a smile, a little relieved. Her gaze dropped towards the floor. The smile didn't last.

Luke knew it was time to stop stalling and get on with what he came to do. "So, listen. I, uh, wanted to apologize for snapping at you over the phone like I did."

"It's okay," she assured him, glancing up.

"No, it's not. It wasn't right and…" he took a long deep breath before finishing his sentence, "and Shelby overheard us."

Rachel refolded her arms, lightly again. "I...kind of...figured she did."

His eyebrows rose. "You did?"

She nodded. "Refusing to take my call right after we had that fight. It was a guess I kept on the back burner." Rachel took in a breath, as well.

"I really am sorry, Rachel. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. I was upset and so many things have been adding on to that."

"Thanks, I appreciate it, but…"

"But?" he questioned, urging Rachel to continue.

"I've been thinking a lot since that day," she said.

"About?"

"About what happened six years ago," Rachel moved, making her way over to sit on the bed, "and about what I did. I mean, I am the cause of all this."

Luke watched her head over and sit down before following suit, to join her. "I still don't like any of this, one bit, but...you did what you thought was best," he reminded her what Rachel had told him.

She shook her head. "I said it was out of fear, that I didn't think I was capable of raising a child. But I think I was using fear as a shield."

"What do you mean?"

Rachel stared towards the floor in silence.

"Rachel?"

He heard her choke, a tad, covering her hands over her nose and mouth, getting it together. She leaned her chin on her hands before sitting up.

"The day I found out I was pregnant…" Rachel took a deep breath. "It was as if my whole world stopped. It felt like everything I had planned...wanted to do, places to see...went up in flames. I cursed myself for letting this happen. How could I be a mother? I'm not ready. I didn't want this, I didn't want a small child running around whining and crying about every little... _thing_."

"Shelby rarely whines," Luke pointed out, softly.

She smiled still looking at the floor. "No, she doesn't." The smile quickly vanished. "That's the problem. She's exactly the opposite what I thought she would be. I'm glad and I love her so much. I always have." Her voice was starting to crack a little. "It's just… It goes to show you, you don't judge before it happens, I guess."

Luke also watched the floor, now and then glancing up at Rachel as he sat and listened.

"The whole time I was pregnant...I...I kept dreading, hoping it would go away, but my stomach kept getting bigger. The nausea, the tiredness, it was all so much."

"I would have been there to help you," he told her.

He saw Rachel force a smile as she stared up at the ceiling. "I know. Damn it, I know, and," her eyes shut towards the floor again. "You were right, Luke. I should have come to you...but...I didn't. I just…" She took a breath. "After a couple months, I… I started thinking about other…" she paused to swallow, "...options."

"You mean putting her up for adoption?"

"That…" Rachel looked away. It was as if she couldn't make any eye contact, whatsoever, not even out of the corner of her eye. She didn't finish and Luke started getting a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He swallowed back a lump that had started to form in his throat. "Rachel?" he managed to say, trying to hold back some anger.

"I never told anyone, Luke," she also managed. "No one knew I was pregnant. Not you, not my parents… Nobody. I kept to myself, most of the time, weighing different options, doing research as much I could. At night, I'd sit up in bed, rubbing my growing stomach, knowing a small human being was in there. Some nights, I talked to her, I even sang to her like mine did for us. Other nights…" Suddenly, Rachel broke down a little, squeezing the bridge of her nose as she held her elbows on her knees. "Some nights I found myself cursing her like it was her fault. God help me, I yelled at my baby. She didn't do anything, but I acted like she did."

Luke caught a glimpse of a tear rolling down her cheek.

Rachel cried for a minute before she was able to speak again. "One morning I considered...I went to this...this clinic. I parked and sat there, staring at the building." She sniffed in. "All my life, when something didn't go my way or I didn't want to do something, I'd do whatever I could to get out of it."

She lifted her head, wiping away the tears and took a deep breath. "I was the youngest of three brothers and a sister. I made sure to have everyone wrapped around my finger so I could have what I want. If my brothers had a toy I wanted, I'd scream, cry, butter my mom up. The more it happened, the more my dad hated it, but my mom...she spoiled me, made my brothers give me the toy even if they were playing with it. She showered me with love and attention the most. The more older I got, the more my dad and I started to fight. I was so strong-willed and stubborn, I refused to give into him. I guess that's why he's so hard on Shelby. Because in his mind, he sees a part of me in her that he doesn't want to repeat. When I finally went back there, back in May, and told them about Shelby, he flipped while Mom was happy to have another grandchild. I only told them about putting Shelby up for adoption...I didn't tell them about weighing other options. I couldn't. I couldn't tell anybody what I had done or thought to do. I didn't even tell that woman. Madison, right?"

Luke nodded, "Yeah. As her father, though, didn't you think at all I had a right to know?" he questioned, keeping the rage down that was still building up inside of him.

Rachel hesitated before answering. "I wish I could say yes...but I'm not going to lie to you, Luke. All I could think about was how this was affecting me. Up until Shelby was born, and even afterwards while that woman kept asking if I was sure this was what I wanted, I kept reminding myself this was for the best, that Shelby would be fine and she would go to a nice family who would take good care of her. I mean...she was the cutest baby I'd ever seen. I thought for sure she would be adopted on the spot," she shrugged.

"But she wasn't, Rachel. Shelby spent the whole first five years being bounced around from one foster home to the next."

Rachel closed her eyes at that statement.

Luke swallowed another lump, taking a breath before he managed to ask, "Can I ask, what stopped you from," he swallowed a third time, "from terminating the pregnancy?"

She shrugged. "I couldn't do it. All my life, I threw opportunities away as if they were nothing. I never even gave them a second thought. But, with this...it… It wouldn't leave my mind," she held a long shrug and her voice came out, choked up, "I just couldn't throw away my child like that. So...finally...I decided passing her off to someone else would be better."

Rachel glanced at the floor. "When she was born, after several hours of labor, and the doctor laid Shelby in my arms," she smiled through her tears. "She looked up at me with this cute, curious, puzzled look."

Luke couldn't help chuckle towards the floor. "Yeah, that sounds like Shelby."

Rachel managed to smile at him. "She looked so much like you, even then, but with my eyes. Her eyes were my favorite."

"Some babies' eyes start out brown, but change as they get older," he pointed out. "From what I heard, anyway." He added a one-shoulder shrug. "My nephew's eyes started out brown when he was born."

Rachel was silent for a moment. Finally, she continued. "I remember peeking into the nursery and watching her from the window." She paused for a couple minutes. "Remember I told you I was jealous of Lorelai?"

"Yeah," Luke replied.

She forced a short chuckle. "You don't know the half of it." Rachel took a long breath. "When Lorelai said she had her daughter at sixteen, I, um… It added to the guilt I had been carrying. Here was this woman, raising a kid by herself when she had been only a kid herself, and here I was, a grown woman, and I couldn't?" She held another long shrug. "Even with all the struggles going on inside my head, and inside my heart, I just pushed, no, _shoved_ them right back down and did it anyway. And the truth is, I never gave it a second thought once I signed those damn papers, not until…"

Rachel took another breath in, letting it out, the longest she could. Fresh tears appeared in her eyes as her voice broke. She stared over at a poster of the main kid from the _Pokemon_ cartoon, holding Pikachu on his arm. "I couldn't even say good-bye." She wiped at her eyes. "I signed what I needed to sign and just walked out, without even looking back. I couldn't. Over and over, I kept reminding myself... This was for the best...that everything will be fine." Luke noticed she was finding it hard to breath, right. So he found himself putting an arm around her, to comfort her and pulled Rachel in. Now with her head against him, she managed to finish as he rubbed her upper arm. "I managed to get out to my car, I managed to go a whole day. Then, finally, when my head hit the pillow that night and I closed my eyes, it hit me. It hit me, hard. Oh, God! I gave away my baby! What have I done?! I gave away my baby!"

At that point, Rachel had completely lost it. He had never seen Rachel like this before, but here she was, balling her eyes out into his chest. Luke didn't know what to say. There was no making this better, for either one of them. But he did feel terrible about all the thoughts he kept building up inside of him, in anger. This must have been harder on her as it was for him.

"I had to live with that mistake every single day. I never even got a good night's rest until I came back here and I saw her again and knew she was safe. All I could do was throw myself into my work, but when I got my assignment to go to the Middle East, and I looked at the faces of those children...It hurt like hell." The tears were pouring. "I know I left you many times and I know I hurt you. I never could forgive myself for that, but now with Shelby...how I could live with myself? This secret I kept all these years...no matter how hard… How hard I tried...I couldn't make the pain go away. It haunted me every time I slept, whenever I looked into the face of a child….into Shelby's...even when I did come back, I still couldn't tell you, especially when you were so against letting me back in her life, in the first place. I felt so relieved to know she was okay and you had her. I felt a part of the burden being lifted off my shoulders and I tried all I could to have a second chance, to make it up to her. I was so happy when she finally accepted me and I love the bond you two seem to have, but that jealousy...I couldn't help want a part of it. So that little girl who wanted my brother's toy came storming back with a passion and I tried to bully you into getting what _I_ want, not even thinking about your feelings, or anybody else's. I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am, Luke. I shouldn't have made that threat, no, I shouldn't have given Shelby away, I shouldn't have kept it from you. I should have just been honest in the first place. Maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe Shelby wouldn't have to struggle to speak her mind."

Thoughts stumbled in Luke's mind, trying to find his voice. He needed to get this just right. He continued to rub her arm, comfortingly. "Rachel, part of Shelby's anxiety, I'm sure she gets from me. I mean, being bounced around from foster home to foster home probably doesn't help, but there's a possibility it would still be there if she was with us."

Her cries slowly turned to light sniffles.

"I admit, I was pretty upset you didn't tell me and I reiterate what I said before about how you should've known me, better. But that's in the past now." He shrugged his hand up, pausing from rubbing her arm. "What's done is done and we can't change that. All we can do is move forward."

Rachel pushed herself to sit up. "I wish I could, but I can't seem to forgive myself. I gave away my daughter without a second glance. I just walked away without even a good-bye."

"Yeah, and I can't say I'm still not pissed about it, but it worked out. Madison was able to call me and I got her back, so thankfully, everything worked out in the end, and Shelby's making great progress, and one day, we'll all be able to move past this. Until that day comes, you and I can work together, to co-parent Shelby to grow in a strong, young lady."

Rachel, who had been staring at nothing, looked up at that. "What?"

"If you're willing to work with me on this and let Shelby _slowly_ progress, you can still be a part of her life. I promise you, that. But, if you can't, I have legal authority to put an end to it. I don't want to. Shelby needs you, Rachel."

"Not really," she shook her head. "She has you, and Lorelai seems to be better at it than I am."

"Lorelai's not her mother, Rachel, you are. Shelby sees her as a pal. She sees you as a mom. Shelby used to talk about you all the time whenever she came home from spending the day with you. She was happy to have you back in her life. That kid is the most forgiving person I have ever known, she was only upset because you were upsetting me. She doesn't like seeing me, upset. Shelby's always trying to cheer me up," Luke briefly shrugged, a little. "If Shelby can forgive you then I think the both of us can, too."

She nodded at nothing. "That's easier said than done."

Trust me, I know," he agreed. "But one day, it will be."

Rachel looked up at him. "How can you be so sure?"

Luke shrugged, once more. "I don't know. I just do. I guess you just have to trust me." He managed to smile once Luke said that, which Rachel managed to return it and leaned over to hug him.

"Thanks, Luke, and I am so, so sorry, for everything. I really mean it."

"Me, too," he replied, returning the hug. Luke was glad the conversation was done and over with, but that didn't mean everything was okay. The secret may have been out, the road to complete recovery, for both of them, was still a long one. Whether it took a day, a week, a month, a year, or five, ten years, Luke knew they would have to work together on this, at least for Shelby's sake. A thought did occur to him and he assured Rachel, he'll be back later that day before she walked him out so Luke could get back to the diner.

When he stepped out into the hallway, Luke turned back to say one last thing. "Please don't make me regret this."

She smiled, reassuring him. "I'll try my best."

He forced one, too before walking towards the elevator.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Luke parked in front of the school, twenty minutes before school was over. It was usually a nightmare finding a parking space whenever he drove, so Luke made sure to get there, early. What Rachel had confessed to him had been floating around in his mind ever since he left her apartment. It hurt the most knowing his little girl was almost not born. In fact, even though it hadn't been a year yet, Luke couldn't see life without her, anymore. The past year had seemed like a long time and didn't feel like it's been eight months.

He thought about those eight months, too. The times the two spent getting to know one another and Luke learning what fatherhood was all about. The first time Shelby had spoken was one of his favorites. It was a milestone, that was for sure, and a proud moment, for both of them.

Of course, reliving happy memories made Luke remember there was a time when it was just the two of them. Sure, Lorelai was around to help, and he was glad and thankful to have a friend like her. But as much as Shelby should have her mom there, too, Luke couldn't help feel selfish, wanting those days back before Rachel returned. He knew eventually, he'd have to get over those feelings. It would just take some time, like he said.

After a while, Luke looked up to see Shelby running towards his truck, a paper bag puppet on her arm and her backpack shaking wildly behind her.

Stepping out, he dropped on one knee and held his arms out. Shelby practically knocked him over when she threw herself into his arms.

"Look what I made, Daddy." Shelby held the puppet up to show him, excitedly. The bag had cut outs of mouse features wearing blue overalls.

"Oh, cool. Is that a mouse wearing clothes?" he asked her.

"We reading _If You Give a Mouse a Cookie_ all week, and today we made our own mouse …" The last word ended up coming out unclear.

Mouse, what?" Luke looked at her, confused.

She repeated the word, trying to enunciate as best as she could.

After a few tries, he realized Shelby was trying to say the word, puppet. "Oh, you mean puppet?"

"Ta' what I say," Shelby told him as if it was obvious, sounding a little annoyed, actually.

"I'm sorry, kiddo. Sometimes, it's hard to understand what you're saying."

"I' okay," she assured her dad.

Luke couldn't help smile. Yeah, he was right, alright. Shelby was the most forgiving person he had known, even if she was frustrated.

"I go' someting to sow Lor-lai, too."

"What's that?" he asked, curious.

Shelby took off the puppet, passing it to her dad to hold before going inside her backpack, setting it on the ground, at her feet. She pulled out a dotted line piece of paper themed to match the book the class was reading. At the bottom of the page was a box where Shelby grew a picture of someone holding something in their hand. "We do our own 'tory like the one wi' the mouse, so I did one abou' Lor-lai. Wan' to hear?"

"Sure," he smiled in interest.

Shelby looked at the paper in both of her hands and read her story, out loud to her dad, but soft enough only he could hear her. Luke wasn't familiar with _If you Give a Mouse a Cookie_ since it wasn't a book from his childhood, but guessed it was a book that taught cause and effect chain reactions. It was creative and humorous what Shelby had written about Lorelai and her coffee addiction.

When she finished, Shelby showed him the picture she drew. "Ta' Lor-lai and ta' her cof-ee," she pointed at the childish drawing of Lorelai, holding a cup of coffee that was almost the same size as her. Luke commented on the size, too. "Yeah, because you have big cups."

"Oh," he nodded as if understanding, now. "That is one of our cups."

Shelby nodded. "Mrs. Avery say see like i' and gave me a gold 'tar."

Luke noticed the gold star sticker at the top of the page. "Congratulations, kiddo. Maybe we can stick it on the fridge when we get home."

She shook her head. "I wan' to give i' to Lor-lai. Can see come to t-ball, too?"

"I think she'll be at work, but maybe you can invite her to your game on Saturday," he suggested.

Shelby frowned in disappointment. "Can we go ass?"

"No, kiddo, not right now. I have to get back to the diner for the dinner rush before we go to practice." The kid started tearing up. Luke pulled her in. "You can give it to her the next time you see her. It's not like you don't see Lorelai every day." Shelby remained silent that time. Kissing the top of her hat, Luke stood up and had her climb in. He passed Shelby, her backpack and puppet once he had slid back in.

While he worked, Luke had Shelby sit at the counter and work on her homework, checking it, afterwards, and read over the progress report for the day. He also fixed her something to eat before heading upstairs to get ready, having Shelby change into sweatpants. Luke changed, as well.

Jess was up there, reading when he walked out of the bathroom. "Jess, I'm gonna be gone for a few hours. I need you to help out downstairs," Luke told him.

"Got it," the boy replied, not looking up from his book.

Once Luke and Shelby were ready, they went out to his truck. On the way, he finally mentioned about speaking to her mom.

"I, uh, went over to your mom's, today." He glanced over at the kid, who was staring out her window. Shelby's head lowered, not making eye contact. "We talked about a few things, mostly about you." Luke glanced over at her. "She misses you, kiddo."

Shelby turned her head, a little, to glance over at him. "Mom...mad a' me?"

"No, kiddo," he shook his head, keeping an eye on the road, mostly. "Your mom's not mad, just sad. But not at you. Things have been hard on all of us, including your mom. That's why it's important you come and tell us when something is bothering you. You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Shelby gave a slight shrug using the shoulder closest to him.

"Whatever is bothering you, just come tell me. No matter what it is, I'll always be here for you. I promise."

She gave a nod that time. "I sorry," she squeaked out.

"I know you are, Shell," he replied, "and I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have yelled at your mom like that. That wasn't nice of me. Her and I are gonna do better to make sure you are taken care of. Your mom and I are only human, though, and we make mistakes, and when we do, we have to know when to own up to them and say we're sorry."

"Wha' ta' mean?"

"What does what mean?" he asked.

"Own up to tem?"

"Own up is just another way to say when we make a mistake," Luke explained. "Like, I had to own up to yelling at her, and your mom had to own up for her mistakes."

"Like no le'-ting you see me?"

"Sort of." Luke took a deep breath, letting it out, his eyes straight at the road, ahead. He glanced over at Shelby, to continue. "Shell, what happened when you were born is very hard for you to understand. I don't even know if I understand everything. Your mom didn't mean to hurt anyone, she just wanted to do what, at the time, she thought was best for you. She thought you would be adopted and go to a nice family, and everything would be fine. Unfortunately, life doesn't always work out the way we want it to. I'm glad you were born, kiddo, and I'm glad I get to be your dad. I don't like what you had to go through before I found you, and yes, I'll admit, I don't like the decisions your mom made. We can't do anything about that, now. All that matters is that I have you, now, and that's the important part. All I can do is forgive your mom and love you. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Shelby nodded.

"You sure? Anything that confuses you, you can ask me."

"I no wan' to talk abou' i' no more." Shelby went back to staring out her window.

Luke watched her from the corner of his eye before reaching over and touching a hand to the top of her head.

He pulled up several minutes later to the baseball field their team was meeting at and parked, letting Shelby slide out on his side, climbing down herself. She was already pulling her baseball glove on over her hand as Luke looked around for kids around Shelby's age. There was a group of kids playing catch, back and forth. Since it was the only group Shelby's size, he assumed that was their team and led Shelby over.

"Jameson Mitchell?" he asked when he approached a man talking to another man.

He looked in Luke's direction. "Yes?"

"Hi, I'm Luke, and this is Shelby," Luke touched the top of her head. "We spoke over the phone, last week."

"Right, Luke." The man, Jameson reached out a hand for him to shake. "It's nice to meet you. This is my brother, Matthew. He'll also be my assistant coach."

Luke shook Matthew's hand, next, exchanging greetings.

Jameson tried to greet Shelby, who hid her face with her hat. He just chuckled. "I'm sure she'll warm up, eventually." Jameson nodded down at a little girl with her short, black hair, completely braided and wearing a baseball hat from a previous T-ball season, "This is Becky. This is her third season."

Luke held up his hand to wave when Becky waved at them. He noticed Shelby peek up from underneath her hat. "This is Shelby's second time playing T-ball."

Jameson suggested Becky take Shelby over and the two of them play catch while they wait for the rest of the team to show.

"Come on, Shelby," she encouraged her which Luke gave Shelby a gentle push, nudging her to follow Becky. With one last look at her dad, Shelby followed after the other girl. They joined the boys who were already playing catch, standing across from each other. Becky threw the ball to Shelby, who tried to catch it, but missed and had to run after it. She didn't have to go far before grabbing the ball and throwing it back.

While the kids played catch, the coach filled Luke in what was expected with games and practices and being an assistant coach, as well. Practices were Tuesdays and Fridays, but Tuesday got switched to Wednesday, instead, and games were early Saturday afternoons. When all of the kids had arrived, Coach Jameson called the team to hustle in and take a knee. Luke showed Shelby what the coach meant, kneeling in the dirt on one knee and reminded her to pay attention.

Coach Jameson went through an overview for the season, for the first-timers, letting them know uniforms will be passed out at Friday's practice. He then went around and had the kids share their name and say something cool about them. When the circle got around to Shelby, she turned and hid her face in her dad's leg.

Luke wrapped an arm around her and rubbed Shelby's arm.

They didn't dawdle on her for too long before moving on to the next kid.

Once they finished, Coach Jameson had the kids spread out and do some warm-up exercises with them, to stretch and get their little hearts pumping. For most of the first practice, Luke stuck with Shelby, but also helped out the other kids, nearby. Coach Jameson focused mainly on throwing drills, having the kids throw the ball, back and forth like they were doing before. Of course, Shelby didn't say anything. However, a kid did compliment her _Pokemon_ shirt which made her smile, a little.

For the last fifteen-twenty minutes, Coach Jameson sent the kids out to catch balls he would hit to different parts of the field, for the kids to catch. It was mainly like herding chickens. Even if he hit one over to first base or outer left field, most of the kids would all run over to grab it. That is, except Shelby, who stood in the outer right field behind first, stiff as a tree.

"Only run for it if it is in your section," Coach Jameson called out to them. "If you're guarding a base, you cannot leave it." He hit another one. It took a few tries for the message to sink in for some of the kids. Shelby wouldn't move at all even when it was hit in her vicinity and the other kid, nearby went for it instead.

"You gotta move, Shell!" Luke called out to her from the sidelines.

"This one's for you, Shelby!" Coach Jameson hit a ball out towards her which Luke told her to get ready. She tried to reach out and catch it, but it missed her glove and rolled past her. So Shelby had to run after it until she caught up to the ball and grabbed it with her glove. Picking it up with her other hand, Shelby tossed it back to him. The ball flew through the air before hitting the ground, rolling the rest of the way. "Nice throw, Shelby," The coach hit the ball in another direction.

By the time practice was over, the field was completely lit up in lights. The team dismissed by putting their hands in a circle, throwing them out as they shouted, "Go, team!" Coach Jameson held his hand out to Shelby as she walked by, for a low level high five. She stared at it, glancing up at him before gently slapping it.

He chuckled. "You did good out there, Shelby. Just remember to move your feet, okay?"

Luke watched her for a moment. "We'll work on it," he assured both of them.

"It's only the start of the season," Coach Jameson shrugged. "Like I said, I'm sure she'll come around." A woman with short, wavy hair joined them. "Luke, this is Donna, my wife."

Luke shook the woman's hand. "Pleased to meet you," he greeted, shaking her hand.

"Donna, here, helps me out with the extra stuff, throughout the season."

"I make sure the kids get good, healthy snacks at the end of each game, otherwise my husband would just give them donuts," she nudged Coach Jameson in the ribs with her elbow, in a teasing manner.

"Nothing wrong with a little sugar," he shrugged.

"Yeah, because then the kids will go home and bounce off the walls for their parents."

Luke just smiled, listening to the couple. He hadn't really experienced what happened if Shelby had too much sugar. Mostly because he set a limit on the amount of sugared products she ate. Candy and donuts were a rare treat and he only let her have non caffeinated sodas, hoping Shelby wouldn't turn into an addict like Lorelai and Rory were.

The adults talked for a few minutes before finally heading back to the truck, helping Shelby to climb in on his side.

As Luke started the engine, he said, "I told your mom I'd be back today when I left. What do ya say we stop by to say hello?" Luke nodded his head over at the scrapbook, Madison had made, sitting on the dash in front of Shelby. "I thought we could show her your pictures. What do you think?"

Shelby just shrugged.

"We could finally pick up your bike, too."

She got excited for her bike.

Luke drove over to Rachel's apartment and the two of them headed up there. He knocked first before she shortly answered. Since it was dark out, Rachel was already ready for bed. "Sorry it's a little late," he told her when Rachel let them in. "Shelby's practice lasted longer than we expected."

"Not a problem," she said, and looked around his leg where Shelby was hiding. "Hey, peanut."

Shelby peeked out around her dad's leg, but quickly hid her face again.

"How's your foot? Is it all better?"

Her head nodded, slightly, against his leg.

Rachel continued to make small talk, asking about how T-ball went. No response. "I'm really sorry about upsetting your dad, peanut. Can you forgive me?"

Shelby poked her head out, once again. Rachel had kneeled to her daughter's level, holding her forearms on her knees. There was a long pause before Rachel added, "I still love you, peanut." At that, tears appeared in her eyes and Shelby bolted over to her mom. Rachel had to catch herself with her hand so she wouldn't fall over, and gave the kid, a loving squeeze.

Shelby hugged her mom for a few seconds before pulling away to say, "No more being mean to Daddy." She stared up at Rachel, her voice sounding dead serious.

"I'm going to try my best, peanut. I promise." Rachel reached up and pushed some hair behind Shelby's ear. "I hate to see when you're upset." Luke noticed her eyes water and her voice break a little, but she didn't shed a tear. Not this time. Rachel looked Shelby over. "You're as beautiful as the day you were born, you know that?"

Shelby shook her head.

"Well, you are." Rachel smiled at her.

There was a brief pause before Shelby randomly asked, "Can I take my bike home?" Typical kid response to randomly change the subject. Plus, Luke knew she had really been wanting to ride her bike, lately.

"Sure, peanut."

Shelby hurried over to the sliding glass door and reached up to unlock it. Holding her hand on the glass, she pushed the door open, struggling a little.

Rachel stood up when Shelby dashed over to the glass door, smiling. "Shelby, remember what I said about using the handle," she reminded the little girl. Shelby stopped pushing on the glass, with the door half open. She then moved over and pulled on the handle, the rest of the way.

With the door open, Shelby stepped out onto the porch. Rachel had come over to switch on the porch light even though the lighting from inside shown out there. The porch light helped even better. Grabbing her bike from its spot, Shelby pushed it towards the door. Rachel reached down to lift the front wheel, to get it over the ledge. Once Shelby pushed it in more, Rachel lifted the whole thing.

Luke hurried over and took the bike from her, carrying it over to the door. He knew Rachel didn't want the bike pushed along the carpet. That had been another quality Luke had liked of Rachel. She preferred things clean and organized the way he did, something he was trying to instill in Shelby, too, though the kid preferred to be dirty. Another typical kid trait, Luke supposed by this point.

Once Luke had taken the bike and Shelby was inside, Rachel had closed and relocked the glass door. When he set the bike down on the tiled floor, by the front door, he heard Rachel ask, "What's this?" He looked back when Luke stood up and saw she had found the scrapbook he sat on the arm of the couch when he went over to take the bike.

"Oh, um, Madison made a scrapbook for Shelby's birthday present," he replied. "She tried to make it to the party, but she got called out of town on a family emergency and couldn't make it, so she dropped it by a week or so ago. I thought you'd like to see it."

Rachel looked from Luke, back at the scrapbook. She opened the front cover to the first page. A sob forced itself out when she saw the pictures of her daughter when she was a baby.

Shelby had pulled off her shoes so she could climb onto the couch, sitting on her legs. "Wha' wrong, Mom?"

Rachel smiled through her tears. "I never thought I'd get to see you as a baby again," she admitted.

Luke wandered over to join the girls, placing his hands on his sides, smiling down at the pictures.

"I' okay, Mom. Daddy cry too when he saw tem," Shelby assured her mom which Luke tried to deny and actually started a playful argument with the kid, going back and forth, eventually leaning his hands on the edge of the couch. Shelby never backed down from her dad, both of them hovering their faces in front of the other until he ambushed her and pinned her down to playfully grab onto Shelby's stomach.

He eventually stopped which Shelby stood up on the couch to try and pounce on him. Thankfully, Luke caught her before she fell.

"Shelby, get down. The couch isn't for standing on," Rachel scolded.

Luke held onto Shelby while she stepped down. Shelby hid her face in his legs, ashamed.

"You're not in trouble, peanut. I was only reminding you," her mom reassured her.

"Sorry," Luke apologized. "That old couch of mine is so old and beat up, I let Shelby play on it whenever she wants. Right now she has this game where apparently the floor is hot lava."

"That's fine at your place, but this couch is still fairly new. I don't want it to get destroyed within the first year I got it." Rachel looked the couch over.

Luke reached down and lifted Shelby onto his side when she held her arms up. The three of them sat down to look through the scrapbook, with Luke holding Shelby on his knee as Rachel held the scrapbook on her lap, turning the pages, slowly. She too was surprised to see Shelby had already played T-ball.

There was a page dedicated to a trip Shelby took to a zoo, with Shelby standing in front of animal pens of different animals. Most of them were of her leaning against the wall with her hands behind her back, standing with another client of Madison's and her own two kids, who were all older than she was. Shelby didn't remain on her dad's knee for long, sliding off to lean on his other knee. She pointed to one of her baby pictures as she stated, "ta' me."

Rachel smiled. "I know, peanut."

The more they looked through the scrapbook, the more teary-eyed Rachel became. Luke sort of guessed it might've been hard for her to look through Shelby's early days. It was hard on him. Of course, he never had a choice. But for Rachel, this was what she willingly gave up and showed her it was the biggest regret she'll ever have.

"You okay, Mom?" Shelby asked, looking up at her with concern written all over the little girl's face.

Rachel wiped her eyes dry as she sniffed in. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Shelby, only half convinced, stood up and moved around her dad's leg, to hug her mom. When she pulled away, Shelby said, "Mom," wanting to say something.

"What is it, peanut?"

Shelby leaned her hand on her dad's leg, poking at the bottom of the couch with her toes, repeatedly, as she stared at it. Luke rubbed a encouraging hand along her upper arm.

"You can tell me whatever is on your mind, peanut. I won't get mad," Rachel assured her.

Without looking up, Shelby muttered something, but neither one could understand what it was she said.

"I can't hear you, peanut."

Shelby's chest started heaving and her eyes were watering.

Luke kept up with the soothing arm rubs. "You can do it, kiddo. Just take deep breaths." It took a few minutes before he was able to help steady her heartbeat, eventually taking her hand in his, rubbing circles along the back.

"I-I-I," she managed to stutter a little louder that time.

"You, what?" Rachel asked, softly.

Both Luke and Rachel gave Shelby all the time she needed, while helping to soothe her nerves. After five minutes, though, Rachel set the scrapbook on the coffee table in front of her and guided Shelby closer to her, to pull her into an embrace. But Shelby snapped out of it in anxiousness and bolted over to her dad, grabbing onto him. It ended up taking another fifteen minutes for Luke to calm her down. Rachel still tried to offer help, pulling out a couple Kleenexes from their box on the coffee table to wipe Shelby's face once it was covered in tears.

Finally, Shelby was able to get out, "I...sorry," looking over at Rachel. That time, it was loud and clear enough both of them could understand what she said.

Rachel gave their daughter a sympathetic look. "There's no need to be sorry, peanut. I know you're more comfortable with your dad."

"I mean abou' your presen' too," she managed to squeak out, also.

Luke was rubbing at her side as he held her.

Rachel leaned in towards them. "I understand about why you broke the snow globe," she assured, "but thank you for telling me you're sorry."

"I can pay for i'," Shelby offered, innocently.

"That's not necessary, peanut," Rachel shook her head. "All that matters is that I still have you. Snow globes can be replaced, you can't." She smiled for Shelby, reaching over and giving her arm a gentle squeeze. Eventually, Shelby pulled away from her dad and moved back over to her mom, wrapping her arms around Rachel's neck.

"I love you, Mom," Shelby said from Rachel's shoulder.

Fresh tears appeared as Rachel hugged Shelby in return. "I love you, too, peanut." The two of them held the hug for a minute before Shelby was the first to pull away, looking at her mom.

"Wan' to come to my game?"

"You mean your T-ball game?" she asked.

Shelby nodded.

"Of course. When is it?

"I's Sa'-a-day."

"I'll be there," she said, cheerfully.

"It starts at two," Luke spoke up. "Over at the field where we have our softball games."

"I 'till wan' Lor-lai, and Rory, too, to come," Shelby reminded her dad.

Luke smiled. "I remember, kiddo," he assured her.

Shelby smiled back at him, showing off her dimples which was good because Luke was able to turn to Rachel and say, "See? Not everything came from me, you know." He smiled between the two, "Shell's got something of yours, too."

Seeing that made Rachel show off her own. "I think Shelby pulls it off better, though," she admitted, proudly.

The smile on Shelby vanished, turning into a puzzled expression. Rachel explained what she meant before they returned to looking through the scrapbook. Eventually, Shelby fell asleep, having to have her mom carry her out to Luke's truck while he carried Shelby's bike. Once she had Shelby situated in the front seat, Rachel kissed her good night as Luke climbed in under the steering wheel. She stepped back onto the sidewalk, waving them off as he pulled out of the parking lot. As Luke drove home, he couldn't help feel a little bit better inside. Keyword being little.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Since Shelby missed seeing Lorelai at breakfast, Luke took Shelby to stop by the inn some time after school. After having to deal with Michel, Lorelai finally walked in.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?" she asked, walking over to them.

"Shelby had something she wanted to give you," Luke replied.

Shelby held up her story to her.

Lorelai gasped in surprise. "For me?" She took the paper from the kid, looking it over, reading what Shelby had written. A smile appeared shortly after starting. Shelby stood there, anxiously, but in a good way, this time, pulling on her own shirt as she watched Lorelai. Lorelai laughed and looked down at her. "Shelby, this is awesome. I love it."

That made Shelby smile. She reached up to try and point at the drawing. Lorelai wasn't sure what Shelby was trying to do, so she bowed her head to the kid's level. In her ear, Shelby explained the drawing was of Lorelai.

Lorelai wrapped an arm around her and squeezed Shelby to her. "Thank you so much, sweetheart." She stood up as she said, "I'm gonna hang this up in my office so everyone can see what a great writer you are." Asking if Shelby wanted to help, the kid followed her back to her office where Lorelai tacked it up on her bulletin board where she had photos of her, Rory, and Sookie.

Once that was tacked up, Shelby tapped Lorelai on the leg, wanting to ask if her and Rory would come to her game on Saturday. Lorelai kneeled to the kid's level so she can reach her ear. Shelby grew excited when Lorelai said she would if it was important to Shelby.

Shelby clung onto Lorelai, hugging her, tight. "Tank you," she said, softly.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." With that said and done, Luke told Shelby they had to run an errand before he had to get back to the diner. He thanked Lorelai before taking off.

Friday evening, Shelby's team practiced at batting and running the bases.

Luke ended up being the first base coach, so he had to stand over there and watch as Coach Jameson helped Shelby. "Come on, Shell," he called, clapping his hands, together. "Just like the two of us practiced."

They practiced both with and without the tee, wanting the kids to be able to hit the ball, regardless. The league was coach-pitched, but if the kid got three strikes they were able to hit the ball off the tee since they were learning. Shelby ended up missing the first two, but managed to hit the third one. It rolled back to Coach Jameson, who had Shelby take first base.

Shelby sprinted over to first, stepping onto it.

Luke held out his hand for her to smack. "Good job, kiddo," he praised and placed a hand on top of her batting helmet. He had her step off the base, except for one foot. "Get ready to run when Calvin hits it."

Calvin ended up barely hitting it on the first try. The ball landed two feet from him which Luke told Shelby to run to second as the boy sprinted over. He did the same for Calvin, giving him a low five.

They kept it up until everyone had a few turns before splitting the kids up into a mini scrimmage game. Shelby's team was sent out to the field, first. As she hustled past her dad, he held a hand out to stop her, leaning over.

"Remember, kiddo, if the ball gets hit towards you, run for it. Don't just stand there. Got it?"

She nodded. "Ten I t'row to firs' base," Shelby recited what the coach had told the team.

"Awesome," he praised and let her go.

The scrimmage game took the remaining forty minutes of practice. The other team batted for half that before Coach Jameson just had the team switch, just to be sure all of the kids had a chance to practice in a game setting. Shelby had done alright for the most part. There were some moments when she second-guessed herself and ended up letting another kid get the ball. When she did manage to get a ball, it was from the ground and the kid batting was already rounding second.

Both Luke and the coach still praised her for trying, though.

When it was Shelby's turn at bat, she ended up missing all three throws and ended up having to use the tee. The tee was the easiest, getting knocked off on the first try. The ball soared through the air, passed all of the kids. Luke barely had her stop on first. Once he saw someone hadn't grab it yet, he sent her to second base. Matthew, who was the third base coach, had Shelby run to third.

When the next up to bat was up, Shelby scored her first homerun. Luke couldn't help feel so proud. "Great job, Shell!" he called out to her.

She looked back and held a thumb's up for him to see which he returned.

After practice, Donna handed out the uniforms, making sure each kid had theirs before leaving. The shirts that were on top were the color teal. It also came with white pants and socks that also was part teal, as well as a matching baseball cap. Luke wasn't too fond of the color, preferring blue or red, or even plain green, considering he also received a uniform specially for the coaches.

On the drive home, Shelby asked if she could open the plastic hers was in, wanting to try on the baseball cap. Saying she could, Shelby tried before Luke interfered, having her hold onto it, tight while he pulled on the plastic until it ripped open. She then made the hole big enough to get the hat out and removed hers to try it on. It was too tight at first, so Luke told her to give it to him which he adjusted the back of it, on top of the steering wheel, so it was loose enough.

"So does this mean I get mine, back?" he teased her. "You know, since you have your own, now?"

Shelby took it to heart and looked at him with a sad look on her face. "If you wan'," she shrugged, reluctantly.

Luke chuckled at the road. He glanced back to reach over and gently punch the side of her knee. "I'm just teasing ya, kiddo. You don't have to give the hat back if you don't want to."

"Bu' do you wan' i'?" she asked.

"No, kiddo. It's all yours. I got plenty of other baseball caps," he assured her.

"And now you got anuh-ter one," Shelby pointed up at his uniform on the dash board.

Luke nodded at the road, "Yep."

Saturday morning after the breakfast rush, Luke and Shelby got ready for their first game. When Luke came out of the bathroom, changed into his uniform, Shelby was trying to use a puppy dog look on Jess, wanting him to come see her game, too. But it wasn't working on Jess. Luke swore he caught a glimpse of a squirm, at least. The boy kept looking up from his book, trying hard to focus, but one would have to be a complete heartless monster to deny a kid as cute as Shelby was. In Luke's personal opinion anyway. He did find it hilarious, watching the two, especially Jess and the way it made him uncomfortable.

Finally, he stepped in, telling Shelby to leave her cousin alone. If Jess didn't want to go, he didn't have to. She crawled off the bed in disappointment, grabbing her glove. Out in the hall as they neared the stairs, Luke assured her, she had plenty of games to convince Jess to go to. He was bound to cave eventually.

Luke and Shelby were one of the first of their team to arrive. The kids had already chosen what they wanted their team to be called. The Tornadoes, because it sounded cool to most of them. Luke had Shelby go warm up with her teammates while he talked with Jameson and Matthew.

"You nervous?" Matthew grinned, his hands on his sides.

"Nah, I'm fine," Luke denied.

"You liar," he called him out. "I know you are because so was I before my first game. Just gotta remember, though, the most important part is that these kids have fun. If they ain't having fun, then there's a problem."

Truth was, Luke was nervous. So was Shelby, and even though he gave her a pep talk on the way there, it barely helped him. Luke couldn't imagine how Shelby was feeling. Plus, he was still getting used to being around this many kids for this long. All it took to keep it together was remembering this was for Shelby.

Lorelai and Rory arrived right before the game started, followed shortly by Rachel who joined them. To Luke's surprise, word had gotten out of Shelby's game. Miss Patty, Babette and Morey, and even Kirk, along with a few others, came to watch and support the kid. Rory even convinced Dean to come along.

Coach Jameson had the Tornadoes huddle in a circle to give a quick pep talk before putting their hands in. "On three: 1, 2, 3…," he said before everyone tossed their hands up into the air.

"Let's go, Tornadoes!"

The Tornadoes were out in the field first, so they hustled out to their positions.

Luke stopped Shelby for a split second, kneeling in the dirt and held onto her waist. "Remember, kiddo," he reminded her. "If the ball is hit to you, go for it even if another kid does."

She nodded.

"Then, if you get it, where do you throw to?"

"Firs' base," she replied, softly for only him to hear.

"That's right. Great job." Luke rubbed her sides, affectionately before releasing her. He, Jameson, and Matthew remained by their side of the backstop, cheering the Tornadoes on and reminding them to be ready. Throughout the small crowd of parents and relatives in the stands, Lorelai could be heard, cheering, the loudest. At one point, Luke happened to look back in time to see her get the crowd to do a wave.

"Let's go, Tornadoes!" her and Rory cheered as they clapped and whistled.

"Let's kick some little hineys!" Lorelai called out.

"You do know there's no scoring in T-ball, right?" Luke asked, eventually.

"Seriously?" she questioned.

He nodded. "T-ball is just to teach the basics. Everybody wins." Luke shrugged before turning back to the game. He was mostly watching how Shelby was doing. She must've gotten cold feet as Shelby ended up spending most of the time out there, standing still. She at least stood with her hands on her knees like Luke had taught her. The ball rarely got hit over in her direction anyway. Left and center field got most of the action and unlike the kids close to her, Shelby didn't try to run over there.

Once the whole opposing team had a chance to bat, the kids switched sides. When Shelby hustled in, Luke had her take a drink of water they had brought with them.

Coach Jameson pitched for each kid while Luke and Matthew took their places beside first and third base.

Shelby sat on the long, wooden bench to wait her turn. At one point, Luke glanced over to see Rachel snagging a few photos of her sitting there with her teammates. After three of her teammates batted, Shelby was up. Donna fitted her for a batting helmet and bat while the third batter was batting. As she walked out to home plate, her cheering squad cheered louder and clapped.

"You got this, Shell!" Luke called out to her from where he stood.

Shelby got into position, bringing the bat right side up like her dad taught her.

Coach Jameson pitched the first ball which she swung too early.

"That's alright, Shelby! You'll get it!" Lorelai called out, followed by the others.

"You can do it, peanut!" Rachel also encouraged.

Coach Jameson pitched the second ball, but she swung too late.

Lorelai started a chant of, "Let's go, Shelby, let's go!" as if they were at a major sporting event, clapping in rhythm.

"You got this, Shell!" Luke continued to encourage her.

As the chanting continued, Coach Jameson pitched the third and last pitch. Even with all of her effort, Shelby still missed. Her shoulders slumped as the top of the bat dropped to the ground with a thud.

The umpire moved the tee onto home plate, adjusting it for Shelby's height. Luke noticed Coach Jameson lean over, talking to her before she batted, holding a gentle hand on her shoulder. When he finished, Shelby wiped at her eyes and lifted her bat right side up again. It took all Luke had not to run over and see what was wrong.

"You got this, Shell," he told her instead.

"Knock it out the park, sugar!" Luke heard Babette yell out. He knew Shelby could hit it very well while the ball was on a tee as seen during practice.

Shelby winded back and swung with all her might, knocking the ball clear off, sending it soaring through the air.

"Come on, Shell!" he reminded her, beckoning Shelby over. Suddenly, remembering, she dropped the bat on the ground and ran as fast as her legs could carry her, over to first base, standing on it. Her cheering section cheered, loudly for her. Luke held out his hand for her which Shelby slapped. "Great job, Shell." Shortly after, he told her to get ready to make a run for second base when Calvin hits it.

On the second pitch, Calvin managed to hit it.

Luke immediately told Shelby to run, but the ball was hit near second base where she was headed. Even though it wasn't caught right away, the kid on the other team still managed to get it in his glove and make it over to the base before Shelby did, getting her out with a slight touch of his glove like they were playing tag.

Coach Jameson told Shelby to hustle back to the bench.

"It's alright, Shell," Luke called out to her, "you'll get'em next time."

He watched her hurry back to their bench which Donna helped remove the helmet before Shelby retook her seat. She kept her gaze on the dirt. Rachel had moved over, kneeling behind her and held a hand to Shelby's lower back when Luke got a chance to steal another look. He heard Lorelai tell her pretty much the same thing he did.

Once the rest of the Tornadoes had a chance to bat, they switched again. That was when Luke took the chance to check on her.

"You okay, kiddo?"

Shelby nodded, messing with one of the ties on her glove with her free hand.

"There'll be plenty of chances to score a home run, okay?"

She nodded a second time.

"It's okay if we don't always succeed. We just have to keep trying until we do, so don't worry. Just have fun, kiddo." Luke leaned in to kiss her cheek before standing up and let her run out to her spot, reminding her to be ready if the ball comes to her.

Like during the first inning, the ball was still hit towards left and center field, whether it was pitched or from the tee. So Shelby still did not get much action. Once it was time for the Tornadoes to bat again, the kids hurried back to their side to wait their turn. Shelby was still fourth in line to bat, making practice swings as she waited for the kid ahead of her, who had to hit the ball off the tee.

The cheering and chanting started up again as Shelby made her way over to home plate.

Luke silently hoped she'd get a hit this time, his heart beating in sheer anxiousness. As Coach Jameson threw the first pitch, his breathing halted as Luke held it. He was able to release it when Shelby managed to hit the ball and sprinted towards him, dropping the bat in the process. Since the ball hadn't been caught yet, Luke went ahead and directed Shelby to second base which she rounded, heading for third.

"No, Shell, stay there!" he heard himself yell out. Thankfully, Shelby managed to make it to third base, stopped by Matthew, who held his hand out for her to smack. With that done, Luke got his head back in the game and focused on Calvin, next. He too hit it on the first try and headed for first base. Since Calvin was taking first, Luke wasn't able to see Shelby score her first in-game home run. By the time he was able to look up from praising the kid, Shelby had already crossed the plate and was heading back to their side. She looked over at him, though, mostly probably checking if he seen it. But Luke held a thumb's up anyway. "Awesome, Shell!"

He saw she had brightened up, smiling from ear to ear before turning to Donna, to give her back the helmet. Luke couldn't feel any more prouder for his little girl, scoring her first home run in an actual game. Once it was time to switch again, Luke scooped Shelby up and bear hugged her, tight, kissing her cheek before setting Shelby back on her feet and sent her on her way.

Eventually, the game ended after an hour or so. Both teams lined up on the field, including the coaches, giving the other team a high five as they said, "Good game." Shelby turned around once she was done, looking for her dad, unsure what to do.

"Go see Donna for your snack," he nodded in the direction where Matthew was leading the kids over to their bench. Luke touched a hand to the top of her head. "That was a good first game, kiddo. I'm really proud of ya." He smiled at her.

Shelby smiled at that.

She hurried over to join her team.

"Great job, today, Tornadoes," Coach Jameson told the kids. "Don't forget your snack and remember, we meet here, Wednesday night at six-thirty for practice." After the kids got their orange slices and blue Gatorade, he had them huddle in, one last time with all their hands in. "On three. One, two, three…"

"Tornadoes!" they threw their hands up as they yelled out, including Luke and Matthew.

"See ya, Wednesday, everybody. Thanks for coming, parents."

While he opened her Gatorade, Luke had Shelby take a drink of water, first, trading off afterwards. Every one of Shelby's cheering squad took turns congratulating and praising her, continuing as they headed towards the parking lot.

In light of the first game of the season, Luke offered burgers and fries for the whole team, back at the diner, to Coach Jameson who passed it on to the other parents. So everyone headed over to Luke's for a small celebration. It lasted for a while before most of the kids started to get rowdy and the parents took them home.

Shelby ended up wanting to stay in her uniform, but Luke reminded her, she was going over to the twins' house for the rest of the afternoon and had her shower and change into fresh, clean clothes.

During the celebration, Lorelai had mentioned she needed the huppa taken care of before the upcoming rain came. So while Shelby was over at her friends' house, he headed over to Lorelai's to take care of it, with his tool box. Afterwards, he came inside to fix Gilbert the goat, who had somehow lost his head. While he glued it back together, Luke mentioned about Sookie stopping by the diner the other day and found it odd she brought up women's basketball when he had tried to ask about how their plans were going on the new inn. Lorelai admitted how the two of them had, had a fight and how she was worried Sookie wasn't going to speak to her again.

"Even though Sookie never showed any interested in sports, I'd figured she'd be there for Shelby's game, too. What happened?" he asked.

Lorelai let out a tired sigh as she made her way to sit back down where she was sitting when he came in. "I just flat out panicked about the enormity of what we were getting into, and it clobbered me, and I clobbered Sookie." She covered her face in her hands as she called herself a jerk. Lorelai removed her hands, taking a deep breath. "Hey, if I cry, will it freak you out?"

"Totally." Luke didn't need two women bursting into tears in the same week. He barely recovered from Rachel's meltdown, he didn't want to go through it again. If he could help it, that is. He always felt helpless whenever a woman cried.

"What if I whimper?"

"How about you suck it up?" he told her.

She gave a slight shrug. "I'll try."

Luke stared at her, confused. "I don't get it. You're as ready you've ever been."

"Oh, Luke," Lorelai shook her head at the table, forcing out a small chuckle. "Do not underestimate the complete and total lack of confidence I have in my abilities."

"What?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're the most confident person I know. Obnoxiously so."

"Thank you," she told him, sarcastically.

"I mean in a good way," he told her. "You're good at what you do and you know it."

Lorelai stared at her hands. "No, no, no. I'm good at doing what I _have_ to do. When I had to get a job, I got it. When I had to find a house and a life for us, I got it. When I had to get Rory into Chilton, I did it. But I don't have to leave the Independence Inn. I don't have to go into business for myself. I don't have to walk out on that limb and risk everything I've worked for."

"Then do it," Luke plainly shrugged.

She stared at him, confused. "What?"

"Just stay where you are."

Lorelai forced out another chuckle. "What is this, reverse psychology?"

"No, just stay at the inn if you're happy there," he explained.

"Oh, so you think I can't hack it?" she questioned of him.

"Of course you can hack it," he nodded his head once at her.

"Great, lip service. That's what I need."

"Hey, if I start to cry, will that freak you out?" Luke asked, in a sarcastic manner.

"You mean like you did at your kid's graduation?"

He tried to lie and point out, "That wasn't crying. I just…" Luke paused for a moment before he finally said, "had something in my eye and it was really irritating me."

"Mm hm," she nodded, not seeming like she was buying it. "Anyways, I couldn't stay where I am even if I wanted." Lorelai looked back at Luke and confessed, "Mia is selling the inn."

That got his attention, big time. For as long as he could remember, Mia always had that inn. He couldn't believe she would consider selling the place.

Lorelai dropped her gaze once more, depressed. "That hit me hard, too. Maybe harder than the other thing." She kept switching between her hands and Luke. "I'm gonna be without a home."

Luke shrugged at that in confusion. "What do you mean? This is your home."

"No, I mean a _home_ home. A memory home," she explained. "The inn is where Rory took her first step. It's where I took my first step. It's more of a home to me than my parents' house ever was."

"You're just scared," he told her towards the table, still holding Gilbert on his leg. "Just like everybody else when they're taking on something big."

Lorelai shrugged her hands, upward, "Well then, what does everybody else do to get through this feeling?"

He took a deep breath. "They run in the back, throw up, pass out, then smack their head on the floor." Lorelai gave him a confused look. "It's what I did on the first morning I opened the diner." He quickly got to the point. "Look, there is no button to push to get ya through this. It's like I tell Shelby, sometimes, you just got to jump in and be scared, and stick with it until it gets fun."

"How long till the diner got fun?" she asked, eagerly.

"About a year."

"Wow," she sighed. "And there's no button?"

"Nope."

"How about a lever? Can I pull a lever?"

"Nope," he shook his head once.

"Turn a knob?"

"Nope."

"You just jump?"

"You just jump."

She let out a deep sigh. "I want to do it."

Luke nodded at her, "You should do it." He looked down at the goat and held it up, showing it was fixed. Standing up, Luke said he would go reattach Gilbert, closing and latching his toolbox, also letting her know that women's basketball is in season, to run the news by Sookie.

Before he left, Lorelai mentioned, "Everything must have worked out between Shelby and her mom."

"Yeah, everything worked out great. Rachel agreed to work together as a team and take things slow as it should be."

"Earlier, at the game, Rachel thanked me," she admitted, a little confused.

Luke looked at her, also confused. "Thanked you?"

She nodded. "She says she knows how much Shelby likes me and how much I help to pull the kid out of her shell. She says she can't thank me enough for all of that."

Luke smiled at the floor. He looked up to reply, "You have. Shelby would still be huddled in that car if it weren't for your hat idea."

Lorelai just shrugged. "It just randomly popped into my head. Even I don't know where it came from," she admitted.

"Well, however the idea came to be, thanks."

"It's my pleasure. Shelby's a great kid, and I think you're doing a terrific job." She smiled back at him.

When he got back to the diner, later, he headed upstairs to find Shelby had already gotten home. It was just a two hour play date since it was already late in the day and the kids had asked, last minute, Friday afternoon when school let out.

Luke was surprised to find Shelby sitting at the kitchen table with Jess, who was writing something on a piece of paper. He had heard her repeat a word he said first as Luke was coming in the door.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked, looking between the cousins.

Jess flipped the paper over, showing the blank side. "Nothing," he told him, calmly.

When it seemed like he wasn't getting a straight answer from Jess, Luke turned to his own kid. "Shelby," he said, kneeling beside her chair. "What's going on?"

Shelby glanced over at her cousin, nervously.

He nonchalantly waved the hand Jess held on the back of his chair. "Go ahead. I'm pretty sure we're caught again."

Luke looked over at his nephew, then switched back to his daughter. "It's alright, Shell. Neither of you will be in trouble. Not if you tell me the truth."

It took a minute before Shelby was able to speak. Softly, but it was something. "Jess was helping me talk be-ter."

"Huh?" Did he just hear his daughter right? Was this one of those moments where she was hard to understand, because Luke swore she just said Jess was helping with her articulation. He asked her to repeat what she said. Sure enough, she said the exact same thing. Luke looked over at Jess for a confirmation.

He flipped the paper over, showing a list of words that Luke knew Shelby had a hard time with. His eyebrows rose at the words written. "When I finally got the kid to talk, I couldn't understand half of what she was saying," Jess explained and shrugged. "So I started teaching her the right way to say these words." He pushed the paper closer to his uncle. One column had words that started with th and ch, while another column had words that ended with T. Another piece of paper that was on the table had double letters in the middle. "We still have a long ways to go, unfortunately."

Luke couldn't believe it. "You're actually helping Shelby? With something other than fighting?"

"Shut up," he responded with, standing up from his chair and walked over to plop down on the bed. This past week sure seemed like it was ending better than how it had started, that was for sure. In no way did he see Jess take an initiative like helping out his cousin. It wasn't until Monday morning, after finding out the kid had also fixed the toaster that was still broken, did Luke notice him and Rory share a quick look before he called out, "Scout, let's go."

Not only was Jess finally lending a hand, he willingly accepted to take Shelby to school, too? What other crazy things were going to happen? Shelby's toys will come to life while no one is up there like in that movie they watched on TV, the other day?


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Over the next few weeks, Rachel seemed to be true to her word on trying her best to be willing and reasonably on the same page as Luke. There was a bit of a struggle and it didn't mean there wasn't an argument now and then, but the two tried to remember to keep discussions at a minimal and out of earshot of Shelby. Which speaking of, Luke did notice Shelby was constantly looking over whenever the two were talking. Even if it was a harmless tease towards her dad, she was quick to jump in and protect him. It wasn't like Shelby didn't know the difference because Lorelai and Rory still picked on the guy and Shelby quietly giggled right along.

There was still a few mistakes here and there that Luke made sure to point out. The Saturday of Shelby's third t-ball game, Rachel took her for the rest of the afternoon, to spend some quality time. As long as Rachel had Shelby home at a reasonable hour and didn't give her a whole lot of sugar or did not push Shelby into doing something she didn't want to do, Luke was fine with whatever the two did during their time. That particular Saturday evening, he was a little disappointed.

Shelby came rushing into the diner all excited and holding a brand new video game for her Nintendo 64, coming around the counter to show him.

"Kiddo, you know we talked about this," he reminded her. "Unless it's your birthday or Christmas, you have to earn the money for a video game."

Her head dropped in discouragement. "I sorry," she whispered, softly.

Rachel came over, shortly after Shelby. She had heard Luke remind Shelby of their rule. "It's not Shelby's fault, Luke," she told him. "We stopped by this electronic store and I let Shelby look at the games."

"Did she ask for a game?"

"No, we were just looking. It was actually not even eye level to her. I saw it." Rachel then went on to explain what the game was and how it was played. It was a game that combined both Shelby's favorite cartoon and hobby, and one of Rachel's favorite hobbies, photography. So she figured it could be fun to try to figure out together and for Rachel to help teach Shelby about the art of taking pictures. Shelby was just excited it was another _Pokemon_ game and liked getting everyone involved with things she liked. She even tried getting Jess to play with her on the game she had picked out when Luke finally took her to get her Nintendo 64. It was basically a 3D version of her Gameboy game, minus the reading and walking around, but had mini games included. Jess watched a few times. _Pokemon_ was just too "kiddie" for his taste and suggested the next game she picked be a shooting or fighting game or something more mature. Luke automatically said no to games directed towards those a lot older than Shelby, even though she was starting to get into stuff like that since she got the super soaker for her birthday and started playing war with the twins. In fact, he even caught Shelby making a gun out of Legos and using it to shoot pretend "bad guys". Luke wasn't sure about letting Shelby play with pretend guns and decided to ask Lorelai for her opinion.

"Well, as long as Shelby has the concept of knowing what's pretend and what's real, I don't see a problem with her wanting to shoot pretend bad guys," she had told him.

Rachel was nervous about the issue as well. With Shelby being such a sweetheart, Lorelai assured both of them she didn't think they needed to worry too much on it. Besides, Ethan and Alan's parents had rules with the toys guns, including not to shoot each other in the face and not up close either and the father had been in the army before so they taught their kids of the reality of guns and that it was all in good fun as long as it was pretend with toy Nerf guns. The twins had even let Shelby have one of theirs since the boys had so many. Though, now there were several ammo darts stuck to the ceiling of the apartment, waiting until the suction cups released. One finally came unstuck and fell right into Jess' food which he looked straight at his cousin.

Picking it up, he dropped it beside Shelby's plate. "You mind not shooting these above the table?"

Shelby just responded by sticking her tongue out.

"Shelby," Luke then warned at that point, looking up from his own plate. "What have I said about sticking your tongue out at others?"

Shelby went back to eating, herself.

"Hey," Jess got her attention again.

She looked up at him.

"Want a hurts donut?"

Thinking her cousin actually was referring to a donut, she nodded. Luke tried to put a stop to it before the literal punch line came, but Jess was too quick and punched her in the arm. Shelby grabbed onto where he punched her, rubbing it as tears appeared in her eyes.

"Hurts, don't it?" Jess smirked.

"Jess," Luke scolded, firmly.

"What?" he asked. "It's not like I hit her that hard...Ahh!" Jess reached under the table where Shelby had given him a swift kick to his shin. "Son of a bitch, that hurt a lot more."

Luke shrugged, scooping up a bite of food. "Hey, I'm letting that one slide, this time. You asked for it, Jess." He turned to Shelby, though. "You, on the other hand, don't do it again. That is just a one-time thing since he hit you." He also told Jess not to pull something like that again either. Being overprotective, Luke wanted to see the damage of her arm, checking for any bruising. Shelby apologized to both of them. Jess at least apologized to her.

After Shelby helped her dad with the dishes and cleaning up, Luke headed downstairs to double check everything was locked up and turned off. When he returned upstairs, Luke couldn't help put his ear to the door, overhearing Jess giving Shelby a pep talk on standing her ground and not letting anyone mess with her. It seemed even with help, the boy, Toby was still bullying the other kids, including Shelby and her friends. Nothing was even wrong at home. The kid was just mean-spirited and liked picking on others. Luke still hadn't told Rachel about Shelby getting into a fight and it seemed like she hadn't learned from elsewhere, either.

As for the discussion of the video game Rachel bought for Shelby, Luke let it slide this time since it was already done and over with, letting it be a one time thing since Rachel didn't know. Now, whenever Shelby goes to her mom's, she brings her Nintendo 64 along.

As October rolled in and the weather grew chilly once again, Luke got the notice that parent/teacher conferences were happening. It would be his second since he met with Darla, last spring. The conference was back while Shelby was still in the cupboard and still fairly new to the school so nothing could really be said. This year, Shelby wasn't hiding and actually participating in class. Well, sort of. More than she was, last year.

Luke invited Rachel to come along, this time since she was around, and met at the school. Since it was a half day for the elementary school, the students had already been dismissed a couple hours ago. Rachel was waiting outside the classroom door, looking at the artwork on the wall where the kids had decorated their own jack o' lanterns using only construction paper.

When they were close, Shelby ran the rest of the way.

Rachel kneeled to her level to hug the kid. "Hey, peanut. I was just looking for your jack o' lantern. Could you show me which one is yours?"

Shelby nodded and turned her attention to the art wall in front of them. Luke stood behind them, looking, himself. Scanning the many jack o' lanterns, she eventually pointed hers out, center left of the art wall. It was just low enough Shelby could put her finger on the bottom of the black construction paper background. All of the backgrounds were blank except for Shelby's, who had taken a write crayon and drew hers sitting on a wall, near a house.

"That looks really good, peanut," Rachel praised her. "Isn't it, Luke?"

"Oh, yeah, of course. Everything she does is really good," he agreed. In reality, Shelby could just draw a line, whether it's straight or shaped, or whatever, and it would be really good in Luke's eyes. He looked over at the classroom door before looking back at Rachel. "Can we go in or do we...?" Luke asked, in confusion.

She glanced at the door, as well. "Uh, no. There's still a conference going on," Rachel pointed at a sign on the door which Luke hadn't really noticed.

Luke took in a deep breath, letting it out. Just to tease her, he asked Shelby if there was anything she needed to own up to before going in and talking with her teacher, like setting randoms fires or eating paste. Shelby just silently giggled, shaking her head.

After another five minutes, Mrs. Avery came out with one of Shelby's classmates and her parents. Luke recognized the kid as a classmate from the previous year. They were just sharing some last minutes thoughts before they said their good-byes and went their separate ways. The girl said hi to Shelby as she walked by which she returned with just a silent wave. The parents exchanged a quick hello to Luke, who he had also seen come through the diner, on several occasions.

"Well," Mrs. Avery smiled, turning her attention to Luke and Rachel. "You ready?" she asked, smiling, politely at them. They followed her inside the classroom and over to a horseshoe-shaped table where Mrs. Avery offered them a seat across from the inside of the table. Luke was glad the hard, plastic chairs were regular sized and not just made for kids like Darla only had. It was quite uncomfortable for a guy like him to try and sit on, that was for sure. Shelby sat between her parents, staring at the table as she held onto the bottom part of the chair.

Mrs. Avery looked through a hanging folder bin, scanning a bunch of folders until she pulled out Shelby's. She opened it up as she began. "Thank you both for coming, and thank you, Shelby," she acknowledged the little girl, to include her. "I love when the kids come along so they can hear the good things I have to say about them."

Luke smiled down at Shelby, who had turned her hat around at the sudden attention. He reached over and rubbed a hand along the back of her head, to help ease some anxiousness.

"That's actually one of the concerns I have," Mrs. Avery said to both him and Rachel. "Shelby is a good student, works really hard on most of her work," she explained, holding her arms on the table. Mrs. Avery turned a piece of paper around that was on top of the pile. "This is her latest progress report. Shelby is barely meeting expectations, but she does need improvement."

Luke looked down at the progress report in front of them, with several _needs improvement_ next to each subject. This was a shock to him. "I make sure Shelby does her homework, every night and try to help where I can," he pointed out.

"And whenever Shelby comes over to our home, I make sure she does her homework, as well."

"Yes," she nodded, "I have noticed Shelby does well on her homework. But when it comes to classwork, there's been times she has turned in half done work."

Luke looked over at Shelby. Placing an arm around her, he lowered his head to ask, "How come you're not finishing your work, kiddo?"

Shelby just shrugged one shoulder.

"Is it because the work is too hard?" Rachel also asked, concerned.

She nodded.

"That's what I figured," Mrs. Avery said. "Of course, I encourage the students to ask me for help when they don't understand an assignment or a direction I have given, but Shelby has yet to raise her hand or approach my desk with questions. Does she speak at home at all?" She looked between him and Rachel.

"Yes, she does," Rachel answered, first. "Shelby's not as chatty as she is with her dad, but we have had our conversations."

"She stopped for a while there while she was adjusting around her cousin who's staying with us, but Shelby has started speaking again," Luke also explained.

"So, she is able to speak?"

"Yes," both him and Rachel replied.

"The fact Shelby doesn't speak here, at school, is very concerning and is interfering with her work. There is another little girl in the class who is also shy, but she has shown improvement with opening up to her classmates and to me. Shelby, however, has not shown any progress in opening up, and I have the class turn to their neighbor and have discussions about what we are learning. That's why I have the desks in groups of two," Mrs. Avery pointed a hand towards the desks. "I recall you didn't interact much when I had you, Luke."

Luke smiled at that memory, but it quickly vanished as she continued.

"You would speak when spoken to, though."

"Shelby uses head motions, though, right?" Rachel asked. "That's how she communicated with me when we first met."

"Yes," she nodded. "There has been a few occasions where Shelby would nod or shake her head, or shrug her shoulders. Very rarely does she look up or show us her face as she still hides behind her hat." Mrs. Avery turned back to Luke, "I know you said, she'll remove it once she is comfortable, but it's been two, almost three months since the school year has started and the hat's still on. I'm very confused and as I said, concerned."

"She was doing very well with her work, last year," Luke pointed out. "In fact, I thought Shelby would be gifted. She seemed to excel faster than we thought she would."

"First grade is a little different than kindergarten, what with adding and subtracting numbers larger than ten, and working on word problems." She quickly added, "Don't get me, wrong, once Shelby understands the material, she's fine. I see that in her classwork versus her homework, as I'm sure she's asking for help at home. Unfortunately, her grades aren't just from homework, it's class assignments and also class participation, as well."

Mrs. Avery pulled out a few sheets of papers. "There are areas Shelby is excelling in."

Relief washed over Luke, to hear Shelby was excelling in something. The whole time Mrs. Avery was explaining the struggles Shelby was having, anxious thoughts whizzed through his mind that freaked the guy out.

"Aside from her spelling that could also use some work, Shelby is very good at coming up with very entertaining stories." On top was a storybook stapled together with a title that was typed except for the word, Dad. Dad was written in Shelby's handwriting on a typed line. It read, _My Dad's Job_. "I had the children write a story about what their parents or relative did as a job, so Shelby wrote about you, Luke, and how you run your diner. Shelby, would you like to share your story with your mom and dad?"

Shelby didn't respond, not even to look up. Sometimes, someone would forget the rule of the hat was the wearer was supposed to be invisible.

Luke lowered his head towards her, to suggest softly, "You can read it in my ear if you want. I'd like to hear your book." Shelby leaned over and buried her face into his side, grabbing a handful of his shirt in one hand. He rubbed her arm with one hand. "It's okay, kiddo." So they moved on.

"I thought it was really good if you want to read through it, yourself." Mrs. Avery pushed it closer to Luke. Under the title was a picture of him, surrounded by several shapes and lines that were supposed to be the diner. He was even wearing his backwards baseball cap, colored with a blue crayon.

So Luke read it out loud so Rachel could hear, too. It was a bit difficult deciphering some of the misspelled words, but they managed to understand what Shelby meant for the most part. "My dad has his own diner. He... cooks food for lots of... people. Some come... every day. Like Lorelai and Rory. My dad... makes the... best coffee. ...Caesar works there, too. My... cousin, Jess and I do, too. Not like Caesar because we go to... school. My grandpa owned it first. He sold tools. Dad wanted to make food. He... kept the... old sign for Grandpa...though. We spend lots of time in the diner. I no-...don't care. My dad has the best job. The end." It took longer than it should have, but he managed to read through his daughter's story.

"It's not often when a story is that detailed even though I don't set a word limit," she explained as Luke looked through it again, to look at the pictures on each page Shelby had drawn in crayon. "In fact, Shelby can get very detailed in her stories she writes."

"What do you mean?" Rachel was the one to ask.

"Anytime I have the children share something, even if it's a paragraph or a couple sentences, she'll start on the lines provided, but then will draw an arrow pointing towards the back of the paper and continue on the back. "Shelby shares stories about what she does over the weekend, about you," Mrs. Avery pointed a hand between the two. "About her cousin, something random she finds funny. By the way, I have to ask since they are written just as much as you are, Luke. Who are Lorelai and Rory? Is that the lady who runs the Independence Inn?"

"Yeah, they're friends of ours. Shelby loves them," said Luke.

Mrs. Avery chuckled. "I can see that in her writing."

"Shelby also tells me stories while we're in the car," Rachel pointed out, smiling at the little girl, glancing between Shelby and her teacher. "She'll tell me about something funny her dad did, or something Lorelai said, or what happened on her video game."

"That's something else Shelby writes about. I assume that's where they're from, anyway." Mrs. Avery looked through the pile of assignments in front of her until she found another story with a picture of the main characters from _Pokemon_ drawn on the front which Luke pointed out it looked like the cartoon, not the video game. It scared him that he even knew that by this point. Never in a million years would Luke have thought, he'd know anything about cartoons and video games, thanks to this kid.

"So, is writing the only thing Shelby is excelling in?" asked Rachel.

"No, actually." Pulling out the progress report again, Mrs. Avery pointed at science. "So far, she seems to be doing well in science and is able to write down her observations whenever we do little experiments. Reading seems fairly well, but I can't really say as she hasn't read aloud to me, yet. A part of first grade is learning the sounds letters make in a word, like how the O in fox makes the ah sound. For the most part, Shelby seems to grasp some sounds as seen in her writing. I can't make a full judgment since Shelby doesn't speak up in class. I've even pulled her from the class, one on one. She just refuses and I can't help her if she doesn't speak to me."

"It's not that Shelby is refusing," Luke explained. "She can't. It's hard for Shelby to be able to speak in uncomfortable situations."

"Well then, it sounds like we're gonna have to get our speech and language pathologist involved."

"What's that?" he asked, confused.

"She works with the students who normally has difficulty producing the right sounds and can even help Shelby be able to speak in class," she explained.

"Really? She can do that?"

Mrs. Avery nodded. "Possibly."

Rachel perked up, sounding relieved. "That sounds very promising." She turned to Luke. "Doesn't it?"

"I mean, sure, but Shelby gets super anxious when somebody forces her to speak. She shuts down whenever her dad is around," he pointed over at Rachel with his thumb.

"I'm sure nothing is really forced. I've only had students with speech issues but was able to speak, so I don't know what she can do. We can continue with a follow-up meeting and bring her in, see if this is something that we can do to help Shelby."

"I'll be willing to try it," Rachel shrugged and looked over at Luke.

Luke looked between them before looking down at Shelby, who had been holding her head and arms on his right leg as if it was a pillow. She never did speak to the guidance counselor, but she does eventually speak to him, Lorelai, and he remembered she had opened up to Rory first, and Luke sure did wished Shelby had some kind of help, not only with being able to speak up, but speak right. Neither him or Jess seemed to be accomplishing anything. Maybe bringing in a professional would work better.

Finally, he looked up. "Yeah, sounds good," he agreed. "If you think it'll help Shelby."

"Alright then. I will," Mrs. Avery made a note, "contact Miss Kelly and set up a meeting, together." With that said, she moved onto socializing inside and outside the class. "As I said, Shelby communicates through body language. Nodding or shaking her head, shrugging her shoulders. She hasn't really made any friends, at least not in our class. I do notice she still plays with those boys from another class."

"Those are her best friends," he told her. "We had hoped they would be in the same class again. Shelby was sad when they weren't."

"Is there any way the boys could be moved to this class or Shelby could be moved to their class?" asked Rachel. "Maybe if they were in the same class, Shelby will be more comfortable."

"We don't usually do something like, not even in special cases such as this. Besides, I'm sure moving Shelby to that class would probably not be the best idea."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused. "If you're worried Shelby would then start talking during class…"

Mrs. Avery shook her head. She looked between the parents, puzzled as well. "It actually has been a few days since we noticed anything, but since the school year has started, a boy in her friends' class has been bullying the three of them, along with other students. We even had to pull Shelby and the boy apart at one point when they fought."

Rachel shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around what their daughter's teacher was talking about. "What?"

Mrs. Avery looked between the parents. She stopped on Rachel again. "Haven't you heard of the fight the two got into?"

She looked over at Luke. "No." Looking back at Mrs. Avery, Rachel said, "I mean, Luke told me about Shelby lashing out at foster parents or those who had tried to adopt her, but," she looked Luke straight in the eye, "you didn't say she got into full-on fights."

"I guess it slipped my mind." Luke cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah, back when she was still upset with you, Shelby fought back when the kid was bullying her and her friends...after Jess taught her how to fight." In actuality, he didn't forget. Luke already knew Rachel wasn't fond of Jess being around Shelby, in fear of the influence he could have on her. Hearing Jess was teaching Shelby to fight, probably wouldn't have sat well with her either.

"What?" Rachel stared at him. His suspicions were right.

He quickly said, "It's already taken care of and Jess hasn't done it since I explained to both of them, fighting isn't the answer."

She just looked away, shaking her head. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"It's not, Rachel. Shelby's having more of an influence than I thought was possible, on Jess." Luke tried his best to remain civil for both Shelby and Mrs. Avery's sake. Rachel just kept shaking her head.

"I don't really know what's going on, but judging from what Shelby writes, I would agree," Mrs. Avery said. "She mentions the things they do and the fun they have."

Shelby perked her head up from her dad's leg as her teacher looked through the pile. Luke actually noticed her tense up and her chest move like she was getting anxious. Soon, the lip biting started as she watched her teacher search through the pile of papers.

Rachel noticed as well. "Shelby? Everything alright, peanut?"

Her eyes never moved as they started to gloss over with tears.

Luke decided to speak up. "You know, I think we'll take your word for it," he told Mrs. Avery, stopping her from searching any further.

"Are you sure? I mean, they have to be here...Oh, here they are." She pulled a few papers out, setting them on top. Shelby's chest was heaving, strongly by this point. What could be wrong?

"Yeah, I'm sure. I just don't think it was something Shelby intended on sharing with us." Rachel tried to say something, but Luke cut her off, nodding towards Shelby. He lifted Shelby onto his lap and comforted her, helping to ease her sudden anxiety. Thankfully, Rachel did back off, now concerned for their daughter. Luke did mentally make a plan to talk to Shelby about it later if she wanted to talk about it. If it was something they should be concerned with, Mrs. Avery probably would have mentioned it.

"Does this happen often, the sudden crying?" asked Mrs. Avery.

"Now and then, yeah," he replied, lifting Shelby further onto his shoulder which she clung to his neck. "Even with me sometimes, it's hard for the words to come out or she gets really anxious about something and she can't speak up."

"I have called on her or asked Shelby to read," she confessed. "I never pushed her, though. Once I saw the tears, I moved on to another student. I have talked to Shelby, one on one, and told her, soon she would need to participate with the rest of the class. I'm glad I learned this before something like this happened during class."

"It probably would been worse, with the other kids watching." Luke didn't even want to think what would happen if things got cranked up. He kissed Shelby's cheek and rubbed her back, soothing her nerves.

"I'm really not good with that stuff," Rachel admitted. "He's great. Me, on the other hand...I can hug, but Shelby never seems to calm down with me." Luke could see the discouragement in her eyes. Probably not the best time to admit Lorelai can do it even faster than he could.

Mrs. Avery reached across the table and touched her arm. "I'm sure Miss Kelly can help you, the both of you," she looked between the parents, "understand what it is that Shelby's going through, and even show Shelby some coping strategies she can try on her own that will help her to be able to speak."

"That would be nice," Rachel said, hopeful.

It would be nice. It was difficult to watch Shelby struggle with something as simple as talking. Sure, there were times he found he couldn't speak, even as a youngster. Luke never remembered it being this bad. This had to be a nightmare for Shelby. Fingers were crossed this Miss Kelly person could help.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Shelby spent the rest of the day at the park with her friends and even went out to eat with their family, so she got dropped off towards the end of the dinner rush as the crowd was thinning out. Before the boys left, they asked if Luke had any donuts.

"Sure," he told them and lifted the lid that covered the donuts. The kids sat at the counter eating. What made him smile was when he looked over and saw the kids huddled together and Shelby's mouth was moving as if she were talking. Luke didn't say anything as he tended to a customer, but he was proud.

After the boys left, Shelby helped her dad and Caesar clean up, restocking the napkins and putting away the condiments that were kept on the tables. Luke let Caesar leave once he finished his work, wanting to ask about what had happened during the parent-teacher conference, hoping she would be willing to talk about it now it was just the two of them. Walking over to the table she was sitting at, on her knees, Luke sat on the chair next to her.

"Hey, so Shell," he began.

Shelby looked up from the napkins at him.

"Your teacher had some good things to say about you. Mrs. Avery seems to really like ya." He smiled at that.

Shelby just shrugged.

"I noticed you... I mean, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I just wanted to ask." Luke leaned an arm on the table. "How come you were upset about Mrs. Avery sharing your stories about Jess?"

She looked away, out the corner of her eye.

"You're not in trouble, kiddo," he assured her, softly. "I'm just curious. It wasn't anything bad, was it?"

Shelby shook her head at the table.

"So it wasn't something neither of you should have done?"

Again, she shook her head.

"If you see Jess doing something he shouldn't, come tell me. Okay? That's not something you should keep quiet about, and if Jess is telling you to cover for him, that's not okay, either."

She nodded that time.

When it seemed like Shelby didn't want to say anything, Luke let it go for now, not wanting to push the kid. She did promise him it wasn't anything bad. Instead, he decided to ask how she felt about the possibility of getting help for her to be able to speak up more.

Shelby stalled on the question, trying to make the napkin dispenser spin while on its side.

"You can tell me whatever is on your mind, kiddo. I promise I won't get mad," he gently reminded her.

She was holding her chin on top of the side of her fist, spinning the napkin dispenser again.

Luke moved the condiments still on that particular table out of the way and laid his own chin on his folded arms so he would be semi eye level. "It's okay to be nervous or anxious. Miss Kelly will help you with that. We're not making you try this to be mean. Your mom, Mrs. Avery, and I want to help you be able to speak up for yourself. Don't you want that, too?"

Shelby shrugged. "I no like when peoples make me talk. I' makes i', harder."

"I know, kiddo, but Miss Kelly will be there to help make it a little easier for you, and I'm sure she knows more about what you're going through than we do."

Another shrug.

"You're trying t-ball and you like it. Maybe you'll like this, too. Plus, you will be able to get out of class, once or twice a week. That sounds great. What do you say?"

She looked up at him. "I try."

"Okay," he said.

The speech pathologist ended up jumping in and started having Shelby come meet with her, twice a week first. After the first session, Miss Kelly called Luke at the diner, to ask some questions, including if Shelby was able to speak at home and how much she spoke. Luke explained all he could about what he knew and have come to see in Shelby.

Luke was relieved the woman was taking things slow and had even made up some laminated card she typed up and attached to an oversized key ring so Shelby could have a way of communicating in class, somewhat, including if she had to use the restroom. For the most part, in Shelby's eyes, it was a time to get out of class and go play board games, draw, or play with Play-Doh while Miss Kelly narrated everything she did which Shelby told her dad it was more annoying than anything. It wasn't enough for her not to want to come back. After a few sessions, with the laminated note cards, Shelby slowly started raising her hand whenever she wanted to say something or needed to use the restroom. That was a start, at least and Luke couldn't be any more glad.

But what really made him glad was when Shelby came running over with her friends, one afternoon when he came to pick her up from school. The kid dashed right over and started yanking on his shirt, wanting his ear to speak.

"Alright, Shell. Calm down." Luke kneeled to her level. "What is it?" But before Shelby could whisper in his ear, Alan blurted out first.

"Can Shelby sleep over at our house, tonight?"

"What?" Luke looked over at the boy, switching back to Shelby, who was nodding like crazy. "Shell, you want to sleep over at their house?"

She continued nodding. "Please, Dad?"

The boys' mom came over. "I said it was alright with me, but they would have to ask you," she told him. "I can drop Shelby off at the diner sometime in the morning."

He looked from the boys' mother, back to Shelby. "Kiddo, I am so happy you want to sleep over at your friends' house, but we have practice, tonight, remember? Then, tomorrow night we already made plans for you to sleep over at Lorelai and Rory's house."

Shelby frowned. "I miss pra-tiss?" she asked, softly.

"No, sweetie, you can't miss practice. I told you t-ball is a commitment you have to stick with."

"We can take Shelby to practice," Ethan offered and turned to his mom. "Right, Mom?"

"Yeah," Alan agreed. "We don't mind watching Shelby play t-ball." Him and his brother begged both their mom and Luke which Shelby joined in, as well.

Luke looked up at the woman. "What do you think? Practice starts at six-thirty, is that okay?"

She shrugged. "We didn't have any plans, tonight, anyway. So if the kids really want to that's fine with me. I can even keep Shelby a little longer and meet you at the game, too if Ethan and Alan want to go to her game, tomorrow."

"Yeah!" the boys exclaimed.

"Then it's fine by me," he said which brought on cheering from all three kids, including Shelby, but softer than the boys. Both adults smiled at the kids' excitement. Luke had to take Shelby home so she could pack an overnight suitcase, including her uniform, making sure there was a long-sleeved shirt for her to wear underneath her jersey. As the air turned chilly, Luke started having Shelby wear one underneath to make sure she stayed warm.

The boys and their mom met them at the diner to pick her up which Luke discussed a few things with Cheryl, including the accidents she has whenever Shelby sleeps in a new place. The boys' mom assured him Ethan had occasional accidents up until last year, so she was prepared for an accident.

The adults were in earshot of the kids so when Ethan heard his mom mention he had still wet the bed up until he was five, his face turned red.

"Mom!" he whined in embarrassment. His mom tried to assure him it was nothing to be embarrassed about. Accidents happened. It still didn't help the kid feel better. That is until Shelby wrapped an arm around her best friend.

Ethan wrapped his own arm around her. "Thanks, Shelby," he told her.

Once the boys' mom had the times and location to Shelby's practice and game, the four of them left the diner. Shelby was so excited, she almost forgot to give her dad, a hug and kiss, good-bye.

"Be good for Cheryl and Ron, alright? Listen to what they say. You can call me if you need to," he told her.

Shelby nodded and hugged him around the neck. "Love you, Daddy,"

"Love you, too, kiddo." He squeezed his arms around his little girl not wanting to let go. In fact, it was Shelby who pulled away. But not before giving him a kiss on the cheek which he returned. "Have fun, and I'll see ya tonight at practice. Okay?" He rubbed her sides up and down before letting her go with her friends. The boys' mom had already taken her suitcase to the car so when Shelby got outside, all she had to do was climb into the back of their mini van, taking the seat right there on the end.

Luke watched through the window. A lump was forming inside his throat as his eyes grew warm. He fought back the tears as he realized how much his little girl was growing up right before his very eyes. Cheryl made sure Shelby had her seatbelt fastened, correctly and slid the side door closed. She caught sight of Luke through the window, waving as she made her way around to the driver's side and got in under the wheel. Shortly after, the van pulled away from the curb and drove away.

It suddenly got harder to breathe, feeling like someone was grabbing onto his heart and tugging on it, knowing it won't be long until his little girl would be all grown up and heading into the world, not needing him anymore. Luke would give anything to hold onto the years in between then and now for as long as he possibly could. What finally did knock him out of his trance was someone yelling for ketchup. Coming back to the world, Luke hurried over and grabbed an extra ketchup bottle from the counter, taking it over to the customer and hurried over to the phone, dialling Rachel's number.

Rachel picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Rachel?" Luke was trying to keep his anxiousness down.

"Luke? Everything okay?" She sounded worried, probably catching on to the anxiousness in his voice.

"Yeah. I mean, no. I mean…" He took a deep breath. "You're not gonna believe what just happened."

There was a slight pause before she asked, "What?"

"Shelby…" Luke stopped to swallow back another lump. "Shelby just left for her first official sleepover."

"I thought she was sleeping over at Lorelai's, tomorrow? I was gonna ask if I could take her for a few hours, tonight for a movie night at my place."

"It's not with Lorelai," he told her, now inhaling and exhaling, several times.

There was another pause. This one was a little longer. "She got invited to a sleepover?" she finally asked in awe.

"Yeah. Her and the boys wanted Shelby to go sleep over at their house, tonight. They even offered to take her to both practice and the game."

"Wait, what?" Luke started to repeat what he said until Rachel interrupted him. "I heard what you said. Shelby is sleeping over at Ethan and Alan's house?"

"Yeah. They want to play video games. I didn't see any problem with it if that's what Shelby wants to do," he shrugged. "You should have seen the look on her face, Rachel. She was actually willing to sleep over somewhere she hasn't yet. We might even be reaching the point where she can sleep over at yours."

"I'm surprised you're okay with Shelby sleeping over with a couple of boys judging by how you were when Rory went through her break-up and you got into that fight with that boy."

"They're six, first of all, so I don't need to worry about anything happening. The worse that can happen is they'll get loaded up on sugar. Besides, they're just going to be playing video games, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. I'm cool with it for now while they're little."

"Yeah, I'm cool with it, too." That was a lie right there. Not that he didn't trust the boys. Ethan and Alan were just as sweet as Shelby was, and Luke trusted them to watch out for her. The only thing he wasn't cool with was the fact she was already starting to separate from him so soon. Yes, it was what he wanted, but that was his little girl, and even though he knew he couldn't always protect her, it didn't mean Luke didn't want to keep trying. He loved that kid with his whole heart and secretly wished she stopped growing. Or at least slow down.

"Well, I'm happy for Shelby. It's great she wants to spend time with kids her own age, and I bet she's gonna have a fun time."

Luke forced a smile.

Later, that evening, Luke arrived early for practice, heading straight for Coach Jameson and Matthew.

"Hey, Luke. No Shelby, today?"

"She's coming. She's with her friends from school."

He nodded, "Got ya."

Luke semi listened to the guys as they chatted, but part of his mind was focused on keeping an eye out for a glimpse of the mini van. It wasn't until half of the team had arrived did he see them walking over. When Shelby saw him, she sprinted over to Luke, who scooped her up.

"We made i'," she told him, softly for only him to hear.

"I see that," he smiled. "How is it, so far? Are ya having fun?"

Shelby nodded. "We played wi' ta Nerf guns and jumped on ta tram-pole-leen until dinner."

"Did ya now? That does sound like fun." Luke gave her cheek a long kiss and placed Shelby down on her feet.

Luke introduced the boys and their mom to Coach Jameson and Matthew. As soon as most of the team had arrived, practice started with baserunning and batting first. Shelby kept getting distracted since Ethan had brought along his Gameboy and she kept going over to look at his game while waiting for her turn to bat. Both Luke and the coach had to keep redirecting her to focus on the task at hand.

After a while, Luke threw out the threat, "If we have to tell you again, Shelby, you won't be sleeping over at their house." That right there got Shelby to focus for the rest of practice, though he could tell it wasn't easy. He did let her know he was proud of her for the effort.

At the end of practice, they had the kids do a short game of scrimmage, even letting Ethan and Alan join. They ended up having so much fun, they told their mom they wanted to join a team.

"Maybe we'll try to work something out, next spring to try and get the three of them on the same team," Luke suggested towards Cheryl when she mentioned it to him.

"Sounds like a plan. Anything to get the boys off the video game for a few hours." Both of them laughed at that.

With practice over, Luke had to say good-bye to Shelby, one more time. This time, Shelby had to yank herself free from her dad's hold before running off after her friends as they made their way to the van, wanting to go play video games now. With a quick good-bye, Cheryl walked away after them. It was just as difficult as it was the first time.

While working the evening shift, Jess caught Luke off guard when he asked where Shelby was.

"She's sleeping over with friends, tonight," he replied as he looked through the slips of past orders from that evening. "So it's just me and you."

"Oh, great. We'll throw a party and get out the ouija board," Jess said, sarcastically, but Luke just ignored the boy. His focus was mainly on how Shelby was doing and how desperately he wanted to call and check to see how she was doing. He thought she would call around bedtime, but Shelby never did.

Luke ended up tossing and turning while he was trying to sleep. It annoyed Jess to the point he had to raise the volume on his music. Luke laid there on his back as he stared up at the dark ceiling. He couldn't help keep glancing over beside him. She had taken Pikachu with her, but Maggie got left behind. As much as he wasn't fond of cats, Luke couldn't help reach over and grip the toy in his hand, staring at it through the dark. His mind kept wondering if Shelby was alright or not, if she was sleeping through the night, or missing him as much as he missed her. What if she was laying in her bed, crying for him? What if she couldn't get the words out to tell the boys' parents she needed to call him. What if she was frozen with fear?

Luke looked over at his alarm clock to see it was two in the morning. Time seemed to move slow. If only he could fall asleep, that would help move it ahead, some. But every time Luke closed his eyes, he couldn't help think of and worry about how Shelby was doing. For the next few hours until his alarm finally went off, Luke barely had any sleep. It was enough to function throughout the day, but not what he would have liked to have.

Of course, the lack of sleep brought out his grouchiness towards some of the customers that drove him, crazy, starting with Kirk. By the time Lorelai and Rory stopped by for breakfast, Luke had reached Oscar the Grouch level of grouchiness.

"Jeez, what got your hat in a knot?" Lorelai asked of him.

Luke let out a breath of air. "I'm sorry. It's just...I didn't get much sleep last night."

"How come? Something on your mind?"

He hesitated before he finally decided to tell them. "Shelby got invited to her first official sleepover, yesterday and she accepted." Luke waited for their reaction.

Both girls lit up in excitement.

"That's awesome," Rory was the first to respond.

"Who was it? The boys?" Lorelai asked.

He nodded. "They wanted to go play video games, all night."

"And Shelby made it the whole night?" Rory asked, in eagerness.

Luke shrugged, "Guess so. I never got a call."

"Well, I'm really proud of our little Shelby," Lorelai stated. "The kid could use some time to have fun with kids her own age. I bet she won't even want to come over to our place, much less home.."

A lump suddenly got caught in his throat. "You'll be okay with that?" he managed to ask.

"Of course if that's what she wants to do. Shelby can always come over next weekend."

"Okay then. I'll let her know when I see her at our game, this afternoon." Luke refilled their coffee before moving over to the counter.

Later, while Luke was helping one of the boys warm up by playing catch with him, Shelby hurried over and grabbed onto his leg, holding on tight.

"Hey, kiddo." He dropped the ball he was holding into his mitt and kneeled to her level, wrapping an arm around the kid. Luke gave Shelby a loving squeeze, kissing her right temple underneath where her hat wasn't covering. She mumbled something that he couldn't understand. "I didn't catch that, Shell."

She looked up at him. "I missed you," Shelby repeated, louder, but still soft.

Luke couldn't help smile. "I missed ya, too. Did you have fun?"

Shelby nodded. "We played _Mario Kar'_ and _Pokemon_ , and we traded our cards. Ten we watched _Batman_. We tried to watch _Bugs Life_ , bu' we falled a'leep. I 'leep all night. No ass-a-den'," she shook her head.

"That's great to hear, kiddo. I'm so proud of you." Luke gave her another kiss, this time on her cheek. Letting her know they'll talk more about it later, he had Shelby take his place with Stephen, the boy he was playing catch with. As he made his way over to the "dugout" area, he waved over at Cheryl, Ron, and the boys.

Rachel didn't show until after the game started, running late. Shelby had been bummed when she had noticed her mom hadn't arrived yet, perking up once she did. It wasn't like Rachel had a habit of being late. She always tried to be on time, especially when it came to Shelby.

Shelby also wished Lorelai and Rory could have been there, but Lorelai had to work and Rory had other plans with Dean. They were still unsuccessful getting Jess to come to a game. It was still entertaining to see how much the kid made the guy squirm. Unfortunately, Luke couldn't make him squirm when he had asked for Shelby that morning.

After the game, the kids had to say good-bye. Luke put Lorelai's suggestion out there which excited the kids. However, Ron explained they had a family dinner to go to that night, in Litchfield. So, after hugs and thank yous, they had to part company.

As Shelby climbed into her dad's truck, Rachel came over from where she was parked.

"Hey, Luke."

Luke looked over right as she neared him. "Yeah?"

"I've been thinking ever since you called yesterday," she said and turned her attention over to Shelby. "What do you say we give sleeping over at my place another go, peanut."

"I go to Lor-lai's tonight," Shelby told her mom.

"I know, but Lorelai said if you wanted to go back to the boys' house, tonight you can. I'm sure she'll be okay with you sleeping over with me."

Shelby shook her head.

"Don't you want to sleep over with me, sometimes? We can curl up and have a movie night, too, just like you do with Lorelai and Rory," Rachel tried to be as encouraging and gentle as best as she could, but Luke could see she was holding back on some frustrations.

But she just kept shaking her head. "Lor-lai say we having a kare-okie par-tee." Since Jess moved in, the karaoke machine had begun collecting dust on the count of Shelby closing in when he was around. So since Shelby had started spending at least every other weekend at their house, Lorelai just offered to let them store it there. It took some doing, but Lorelai and Rory finally got the little girl to freely sing around them. The two were just as surprised as he was. When Lorelai asked Shelby who had taught her, Shelby told her nobody did. She never knew until Luke mentioned it to her first. It was one of the reasons he decided to get out his old guitar whenever it was just the two of them and play while Shelby sang her favorite country songs along with him.

Rachel dropped her gaze towards the ground.

Leaning a hand on the top of the truck, Luke spoke up. "Look, Rachel. We already had this planned out. Lorelai put the suggestion out there if Shelby wanted to stay another night at her friends' house, other wise it's still the same plan. We can try it next weekend _if_ Shelby's okay with it." He looked over at Shelby. "That sound good to you, kiddo? Maybe try sleeping over at your mom's, next weekend?"

That time, she just shrugged one shoulder.

"Well, you have the week to think it over. Okay?"

She nodded.

Luke turned back to Rachel. "Then it's settled," he told her.

"That's fine," she agreed. There was a hint of disappointment in her voice, but at least Rachel was cooperating with him. He appreciated the effort she was making. Taking a step closer to Shelby, she asked for a hug and kiss, wrapping her arms around the kid. "Love you, peanut. Have fun, tonight."

"I will." Shelby returned the hug and kiss before Rachel backed away. "We always have lo's of fun," she stated as if it were a fact.

Rachel laughed at her daughter's enthusiasm. "That's good to hear, peanut." She gently hit the brim of Shelby's hat. Before she started heading back to her SUV, Rachel checked in with Luke, "am I taking Shelby to school, Monday?" Since she's been back, Luke didn't make Jess do it as much even though Shelby liked it. He didn't want to make Jess feel like he always had to take his cousin, like it was his job or something.

"Sure," he replied.

"Then, I'll see the both of you Monday morning." They all exchanged good-byes as Rachel headed over to her SUV. Luke told Shelby to scoot over so he could slide in under the wheel, shutting his door while Shelby fastened her seatbelt. He waved once Rachel had pulled out which she returned before driving from the parking lot. Checking behind him, Luke did the same.

While the kids were saying good-bye, Cheryl had affirmed what Shelby had said about waking up dry, that morning. Once they had gotten back from practice, last night, the kids had headed straight for the den and played on the Nintendo 64 for the rest of the night until Cheryl told them to turn it off around ten-thirty and put on an animated _Batman_ movie hoping they would fall asleep. The kids ended up staying awake for the whole movie, but dozed off when she put on _A Bug's Life_. Shelby slept through the whole night, right in between the boys, something a father never wanted to hear about their daughter. Luke was just relieved they were all six and not sixteen. Shelby gave more details on the way back home.

Lorelai came by the diner around dinnertime when she got off work. Shelby had hung out in the diner the whole time since they got home, working which ended up being longer than the two hours Luke usually gave. She wanted to spend time with her dad until she had to leave him again.

The moment Shelby saw her, she dashed right over, hugging Lorelai around the legs.

"Hey, sweetheart. I heard you had your first sleepover, last night."

Shelby stared up at Lorelai, confused and shook her head.

"No? You didn't have your first sleepover?"

Shelby motioned her hand to speak in her ear.

Lorelai lowered her head so the kid could whisper in her ear. "I know, but this was your first official sleepover with friends your age you were invited to. Did you have fun?"

Shelby nodded, happily and retold the events to Lorelai.

"Man, I wish I could have been there. That sounds like an amazing fun-filled night. How will we ever top it?" Lorelai laughed as Shelby laughed along with her. She then stood up. "You sure you're okay with me taking Shelby?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Luke asked.

"Well, considering she was gone last night and now she'll be gone, tonight. I just figured you would at least want one night of the weekend."

He shrugged. "It's either with you or with Rachel."

"With Rachel? You guys are trying again?"

"Not yet. After I called to tell her Shelby went to her friends', overnight, Rachel figured it was time for us to try again and you wouldn't mind since you offered to let Shelby stay another night with her friends."

Lorelai shrugged, crossing her arms. "No, I wouldn't have mind. That's why we've been doing this, to get Shelby comfortable sleeping alone. In fact, that's fine if Rachel wants Shelby to spend the night with her."

"We left it up to Shelby and Shelby chose your house."

She looked down at the kid. "You sure you don't want to try to sleep over at your mom's, sweetheart?"

Shelby nodded and pointed up at her.

"One more night at our place then?" Lorelai smiled as she nodded up at her. "You know you are always welcome at our house."

Shelby hugged her leg again before dashing upstairs to grab her suitcase.

"I better go help her," said Luke, pointing after her since the suitcase was his and was almost her same size.

"I'll be waiting."

He offered her some coffee while Lorelai waited.

While they made sure Shelby had everything, she asked if she could bring her Nintendo, wanting to get the girls to play with her. The last time Shelby convinced them to play, Lorelai chose all the _Pokemon_ she thought were cute. Even though Shelby at least taught them how to battle, she still managed to beat them. Rory managed to come close though.

Luke unplugged the console from the TV, wrapping the cord around it while Shelby wrapped the cords to the controllers around themselves. He then placed the console in the corner of the suitcase, between her clothes to help protect it.

"Is there anything else you want to bring?"

Shelby stood up and wandered over to the chest Luke had emptied out to store all her toys she had started accumulating over the past year. She lifted the lid before looking inside. It took a couple minutes, but Shelby chose her Legos and a handful of her figurines, walking back slowly, to balance her figurines on top.

"Those are the toys you want to bring?"

She nodded. Shelby stuffed it in the suitcase which Luke helped maneuver things around so it'll fit.

Once things were all set, Luke shut the suitcase, latching it. "You sure you're okay with spending another night away from home? You don't have to if you don't want to. We can always hang out here."

"I wan' to go," she continued to insist. "You no wan' me to leave again?"

"No, that's not it, kiddo," he lied, not wanting to make her feel guilty. "As long as you're having fun, that's all that matters."

Shelby moved on top of the suitcase, sitting on her legs. "I sorry I no call. I forgo'." She gave him a pitiful look that broke his heart.

"It's alright. You were having fun and I got that. No need to be sorry for having fun." Truth was, he was torn. Luke was very glad Shelby was able to make it through the night and manage to have fun. On the other hand, it only reminded him she doesn't need him as much anymore.

"I did miss you. E-tan and Alan made me feel be'ter."

He reached over and kissed the middle of her forehead. "That's good to hear. Ethan and Alan are good friends, huh?"

She nodded. "I no have friends from school before."

"No?"

She shook her head that time. "I hid a lo', remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. But now you've been doing so much better. You're talking now and you're participating a little in class." He reached over and pushed some hair behind her ear. "As I said, I am so proud of you, kiddo."

That made Shelby smile. Getting off her legs, she swung them around and slid off of the suitcase, throwing herself against her dad. Luke landed back on his hand to help catch himself. "Can I tell you a secre'?"

"Sure, kiddo."

"No tell?" she shook her head.

"I won't tell anyone," he assured her.

"I prayed for you."

"You prayed for me?" Luke wasn't sure what Shelby meant by that.

She nodded. "Every day I prayed you and Mom come back for me, even more when Bailey lef'."

His eyebrows rose at that. "You did?" he asked, surprised. "Is that why you never let anyone get close to you?"

"A li'toe," she admitted, now not making eye contact. Shelby was sitting on his leg like one would sit on a horse as he held onto her waist. "Too many peoples came to see me and made me go wi' tem."

"Did you feel that way when you first met me?" Luke hoped she hadn't felt pressured into meeting him. Even though it ended fine, he would have hated to know his daughter hated it in the beginning.

"Maddie say we were going ou' to ea'. She no say I was mee-ting someone. I was mad at her, but ten you say you were my dad. Ten I no mad no more," Shelby shook her head. "I was happy."

Luke smiled at that. "You were, huh?" He leaned his face in, touching his forehead to hers. Shelby wrapped her arms around his neck, reaching her head up to kiss his nose. Her lower lip was tucked in from embarrassment, but Luke never said anything. He just smiled at her. Finally, he said, "Come on. I'm sure Lorelai is on her fourth cup of coffee by now." Both of them stood up. Grabbing her suitcase for her, they both made their way downstairs.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The second night was a little more easier than the first. His mind still worried about how Shelby was doing, but Luke got better sleep this time. Exhausted from the day's events especially playing in her t-ball game, Shelby had fallen asleep during the second movie the three watched together, towards the end. Either she was extremely tired or Shelby was now comfortable at the Gilmore house, but she was able to sleep through the whole night which was a first. Usually, in the middle of the night Shelby woke up, whimpering from a nightmare, wet and Lorelai would lay with the kid until she fell back to sleep once she had her cleaned up. It did help Shelby feel at ease, having Rory a few feet away. Whatever the reason, the results they had hoped to achieve had been acquired.

Luke was in a better mood Sunday morning when the girls came into the diner and Shelby made a beeline straight for her dad, hugging him around the legs as he tried not to drop the plates he was holding.

"Shelby, I'm glad to see you, too, but you know you have to be careful when my hands are full." She let go, stepping back to hold her hands behind her back as she stared at the floor, pitifully.

He set the plates on the correct table before kneeling to her level, pulling Shelby in to wrap her in his arms and kissed the side of her head between her hat and the top of her ear. "It's okay, Shell. No harm done. Just be careful next time."

Shelby grabbed onto him and squeezed her dad, tight.

This time, Luke was able to pull back, forcing himself. He could hug this kid all day if he could. "You have fun?"

She nodded.

"Good, I'm glad." He smiled at her.

Shelby joined Lorelai and Rory at the table they sat at. Luke brought the older two girls, coffee and took their order, leaning over to give Shelby his ear to take hers.

"Eggs and ham," she told him.

"Coming right up," he told her, knowing already how his daughter liked her eggs: scrambled with the ham cut up and mixed in. When he returned with their order, Lorelai let him know they were kidnapping Shelby a little bit longer. "For how much longer?"

She shrugged. "A couple more hours. Why?"

He nodded down at Shelby, "I checked your folder, last night. You have homework to do when you get home."

Shelby inaudibly moaned, dropping her forehead onto her folded arms.

"It has to get done, kiddo. You had all weekend to have fun, now it's time to wind down and work on your homework."

"What does she have to do? Maybe I can help her," Rory offered.

"Math, language arts, vocabulary, and reading," he told her.

The teen turned back to the younger girl. "Go get your backpack and I can help you while we eat."

Shelby was about to stand up when Luke stopped her. "Nope, I need Shelby to eat first."

"How come?"

"'Cause, every time Shelby tries to eat while doing something else, she'll just stop eating and focus on whatever she's doing and won't be able to finish her food," he explained.

She nodded.

The two ate first before Rory told Shelby to go grab her backpack. It was a packet of mixed worksheets the students had to complete by Monday, including all the subjects Luke had mentioned. They worked on math first before moving onto the next page where Shelby had to fill in the blanks using the vocabulary words she would be tested on that following Friday, followed by a short story and answering questions underneath about what it was about. The whole packet only took an hour and a half to complete which Luke told Shelby she could do her daily reading at bedtime. Rory even checked it over for him. With everything done, her and Lorelai was able to kidnap Shelby for another couple hours, assuring Luke they'd bring her, back. Maybe… Lorelai told him they were snatching her away and skipping town. He just told them that was fine and to have Shelby, back by dinner before walking away.

Later, that afternoon, they returned with an idea Rory had come up with, this time.

"Show your dad what we got, Shelby," she told the little girl.

Shelby looked inside the shopping bag and pulled out a sealed package of a set of walkie talkies. Luke even noticed they matched the color of the walls of her bedroom. Both Lorelai and Rory explained how they were talking about Shelby giving sleeping over at her mom's another chance and how it was Rory who came up with the idea of having some way to have her mom with her even though she'd be down the hall. Shelby hadn't been one hundred percent sure, but was willing to give it a try. Besides, sometimes it was even harder to say no when Lorelai really persuaded the kid to do something. Luke hoped it would work, too. Of course, when he finally got upstairs, later that night, Shelby was already testing it out with Jess, hiding as far away as she possibly could. With an one room, small apartment, that was no easy task.

Luke went over and lifted his daughter up, sideways. Holding her firmly around her legs, he let Shelby's upper body go where she dangled upside down, to act like he would drop her even though he really wouldn't. When they had started doing this game, Shelby had freaked out. Now that she trusted her dad, fully, she giggled in delight. After putting her, back down on her feet, Luke had her head into the bathroom to get ready for bed. She changed into her striped pajama pants and a white generic baseball t-shirt.

"Why don't you pick out a book to read to me," he suggested when she returned from the bathroom.

Shelby picked out one of her books they kept on the nightstand while Luke showered and changed for bed, as well. Once they were ready, they curled up on the bed while Shelby read the book out loud. He helped her sound out a word or two here and there, but for the most part, she read it all by herself.

"Can we do a song before we go to bed?" she asked while Luke tossed the book on the nightstand.

"Well," he hesitated, knowing it was futile to resist.

"Only one song. Please?"

"Alright," Luke caved and reached over to grab his guitar. He held it on one leg where he was able to show Shelby a couple cords as he had been doing the last couple of times she convinced him to play a song before bed. It was obvious Lorelai's persuasive skills were washing off onto the kid.

Luke helped position her fingers on each cord, explaining as he did so. After fifteen minutes, Luke played her favorite non Billy Gilman song, John Michael Montgomery's "Life's a Dance" as they sang together. He put emphasis on the part of the song, "a time to talk," to tease her, squeezing in a chuckle to make sure she knew what he meant to do. The kid's singing had even caught Jess, off guard, and caused him to look up from the book he was reading.

"Huh," he said. If Luke didn't know better he'd swore Jess really was impressed. "Get her speech sounds down and that kid could be winning at karaoke contests." Jess returned to his book.

With Shelby finally home, Luke finally got a decent night's sleep. The kid had even stayed, snuggled beside him the whole night as he held an arm around her.

Rachel came by the diner the next morning like planned, bringing news along with her. "I decided to cut back on traveling."

His jaw just about hit the floor when she told him. "Y-you… you, what?"

"I've been really thinking about it since I got back from Africa, and after our talk, a month ago. I threw away being able to have her first five years like an idiot. I don't want to miss any more of our daughter's life."

"So what are you gonna do for work?" he asked. It was unbelievable. Rachel was willingly giving up what she always wanted to do.

"Well, I've sorted out some options. I still want to do something with photography and I noticed Stars Hollow doesn't really have a photo studio. So, why not open one."

He stared at her, confused. "You want to take awkward family photos?" Luke questioned.

"Sure, why not," she shrugged with her hands. "It's something, and I'll be able to see Shelby, regularly, instead of leaving her for weeks at a time."

Luke was at a loss for words. First Rachel admitted to cutting back on traveling and was willing to stay for longer periods of time. Now, she was saying she would take photos of families who sometimes gave awkward poses? "And you're okay with all this?"

"For Shelby, yeah. I couldn't be more sure." Rachel smiled down at Shelby, who was standing beside her. "What do you think about me staying around more, peanut?" The little girl grinned from ear to ear, showing off her dimples even more than usual. She held a thumb's up to say she approved. Rachel gently grabbed onto it and held a kiss to her hand. It certainly was making it easier for Luke to finally start to forgive her.

Right when Rachel had turned around to take Shelby to school, Kirk had appeared, startling her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he told her. "I was wondering when you would be accepting applications?"

"Uh, well..." she glanced back at Luke, who rolled his eyes at Kirk's usual self. She turned back to ask, "Do you know anything about photography, Kirk?"

"I actually have a portfolio I keep of photos I've taken. I can show them to you if you like."

"Uh, sure."

Luke added, "Did you make sure to remove the cap?" reminding Kirk of a few months ago when Taylor put up that dumb walk signal, outside.

"Yes, Luke. I did," he replied, annoyed.

"Well, Kirk. I will let you know when I am ready," Rachel assured the guy.

"Great, thanks." Kirk held out his hand to shake hers, being professional. Once they shook, he turned and walked away. Rachel turned back to Luke, who just shrugged that time. How many jobs has he had, anyway?

Halloween was right in the middle of that same week. The town had been decorated for the occasion all month long. Unknown to anyone's knowledge, including Luke, Shelby had been secretly making her costume with her mom both Monday and Tuesday afternoon, after school. It was a surprise when Rachel had arrived extra early Wednesday morning before Shelby was even dressed. Turns out, that was actually on purpose. She took her back to her apartment to change into her costume since Shelby's class was having a halloween party and were allowed to wear their costume the whole day, and wanted to surprise her dad, as well.

Going back to Lorelai's persuasion skills she had passed onto the kid, Shelby had managed to somehow convince her dad to decorate the diner with halloween decorations. Even Lorelai was impressed. Her and Rory were already there when Shelby returned with her mom, dressed in her costume.

Lorelai was the first to see her. "Oh, my God!" Her jaw dropped, but was smiling and couldn't help laugh. It made Rory quickly turn in her seat.

Luke appeared from the kitchen right as Lorelai had said that.

Rory had also dropped her mouth in shock, laughing as well. They weren't trying to be mean. It was just a fun sight to witness.

Luke stopped in his tracks to stare at his kid. "Shelby, what do you have all over your face?" was the first thing to come out of his mouth.

Rachel came up behind Shelby. "It's face paint," she answered for the kid. "It was the easiest I thought could come off, to use for your fuzz."

"My, wha…" He stared at his daughter as it slowly sunk in what she was dressed as. Or should he say, who she was dressed as. "Shell… This was what you chose to be for Halloween?"

She nodded as she smiled up at him. Somehow, they had found another blue baseball cap, along with a child-sized version of the shirt he wore a lot and a plaid, flannel overshirt with the sleeves halfway rolled up. The jeans were just a pair she already had. On her feet were actually a pair of sneakers, but they were all black like his shoes were, the best Rachel and Shelby could find.

Luke was speechless. "I… Wow. I don't know what to say."

"It's like looking at two Lukes, except one's a lot shorter," Rory commented, looking between her own mom and Shelby.

"I know," she agreed. "It's like they're twins or something. Now we really know what he'd look like if Luke was a girl."

Realizing he was still holding plates of food in his hand, Luke set them down on Lorelai and Rory's table before going back to kneel in front of Shelby. "You really picked this, kiddo?"

Shelby nodded. She pointed at herself with her thumb and then pointed at him. This was definitely a whole lot better than when Jess did it to be funny.

"Wait," he said suddenly. Lowering his head, Luke asked of her, "you're not mocking me, are ya, like Jess did?"

Shelby shook her head.

He raised back up and pulled her right in, squeezing his little girl, tight. "You are really something, kiddo." Luke gave a long kiss on her cheek above where the face paint started. He couldn't be more thrilled Rachel had her camera with her, snapping a couple before they left for school. Yes, he definitely wanted to take Shelby to school, if only to see his old first grade teacher's reaction.

When Mrs. Avery first laid eyes on Shelby, she couldn't help laugh out loud. Not to be mean, like the Gilmores, it was a sight no one would ever forget. In fact, Shelby ended up winning Most Memorable Costume during the school's Halloween assembly. It was the first award she had ever won in her short life and couldn't wait to get home and show her dad. Luke hung it on the fridge along with some of the kid's drawings and school work that had gotten gold stars.

"When are we going trick-a-trea-ing?" Shelby asked afterwards.

Luke's expression dropped when he realized the main focus of the holiday finally came up. The thought of kids running around in strange costumes, banging on doors, and begging for things that could rot their teeth urked him to some degree. "Do you really need to load up on sugar-filled candy, Shell?" he asked, hoping to talk the kid out of it.

"Yeah, Dad. Ta' ta poin' of Hall-o-ween," she told him, shrugging her hands up as if it was obvious.

Luke stared at his daughter for a long time. Finally he said, "That's it. You're banned from Lorelai's house."

She looked up at him with the puzzled look of hers. "Why?"

"Because you are learning the wrong stuff from her, that's why." He wasn't actually banning her from going over to Lorelai's and he eventually had to assure her he was kidding. Luke had to admit, it was turning out scary, how much the kid was picking up. Once that was taken care of, though, Shelby returned to wanting to go trick-or-treating. "Fine," he eventually gave in. "Your mom can take you after dinner. How's that?"

"Why no you do i'?" she asked, following him to the door.

With his hand on the door knob, Luke looked back to answer. "Because I have to work, remember?"

"Can C-zer be in c'arge when you take me?"

Luke sighed towards the ceiling, closing his eyes. "Shell…"

"Please, Daddy?" she begged, trying to butter him up as best she could with one of her persuasive looks Shelby used on him when words weren't succeeding. Like Jess, he tried to look away, now starting to squirm himself. Getting an idea, he looked at her. "You know what, I bet Lorelai would love to take ya."

But Shelby shook her head, stubbornly.

"Come on, Shell," he couldn't help moan. This was really making the guy feel uncomfortable.

"Why you no wan' to take me?" she finally asked, sounding hurt.

Luke tried to think of a good reason he could tell his six-year-old. Other than the real reason, he couldn't think of anything. The hurt expression was slowly melting his heart, though. Finally, he couldn't take it any longer and gave in.

"Okay, fine. If you really want me to take ya trick-or-treating, I will."

Shelby suddenly perked up, cheering. She squeezed his leg in a tight hold. Luke thought she was going to cut off his circulation or something by how hard the kid was squeezing. "Tank you, Daddy."

Luke couldn't help smile. "You're welcome, kiddo." He then laid down some ground rules. "There will not be any nibbling until we get home and I had the chance to check every piece, and you're only allowed one piece a day. Understand?"

Her smile turned into a frown upon hearing the rules. "One a day? Why?"

"Shell, you don't need a whole lot of candy. Remember, you had a cavity at your last dentist appointment."

"I bruss really good, every day," she pointed out.

"Those are my final words, Shelby. If you can't agree to them then we won't be going at all," he got firm with her, managing to keep some gentleness in his tone.

Shelby didn't look happy about it, but she agreed anyway. It took a moment and Shelby had to repeat what she said before he understood she was asking to hide her candy from Jess so he wouldn't steal it when she wasn't around. Luke couldn't wait when Shelby was comfortable around Miss Kelly so they could work on her sounds. She had to get her, speaking, first.

Later that evening, Luke reluctantly took Shelby out, trick-or-treating. Everyone really liked her costume, which she received a lot of positive comments from a lot of the townspeople. They went to every house whose lights were on and had decorated, skipping over the ones who were passing out candy, but didn't decorate their house. Once they got to the Gilmore house, he shared his rant about it to Lorelai, who was sorry she asked.

After walking for little over an hour, they headed back to the diner where Shelby dumped her candy out on the counter for Luke to check through. Who was he kidding? This town wasn't going to have anyone who would sabotage a kid's Halloween candy. He still checked to make sure, but it seemed safe and let Shelby pick out one piece of candy. She tried to butter him up for more, but Luke managed to steel his heart and stick to his word.

"Do M&Ms coun' az one?" she whispered to him.

Luke couldn't help smirk. "Yes, you can have a whole package of M&Ms." He then held out his hand, offering to open it for her when Jess came over.

"Hey, free candy."

Shelby held a finger up to her cousin.

"What?" he questioned.

"I think she's telling you, you can have one piece of candy. Right, Shell?"

Shelby nodded up at Jess.

"Only one?"

She motioned for his ear. Jess lowered himself, leaning a hand on the counter while she whispered to him.

He looked at her. "What rules?"

Shelby pointed over at her dad.

"Yep," Luke nodded. "I told Shelby she could only have one piece a day. Same goes for everybody."

"You're so lame," he mumbled out loud. Jess grabbed a fun-size Snickers bar, or so Luke thought. When he headed for upstairs, Shelby slid down from her stool and ran after him, tackling the boy's legs. She started trying to wrestle the candy from his hand. Thinking she didn't want him to take the Snickers, Luke suggested Jess choose another one.

Shelby looked over from the struggle, shaking her head and quickly held up two fingers.

It shortly caught on what she meant. "Jess, put one of them, back," he told him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I only took one," Jess tried to deny. He eventually pulled his hand away and held the candy above his head where it was out of his cousin's reach. Shelby tried jumping for it, landing against him a few times.

"Show me then."

"I swear, I didn't take more than one."

"Fine, then you have nothing to worry about. Just show us," Luke shrugged, leaning a hand on the counter while Shelby continued to reach for it. At one point, she stopped. Right as it looked like Shelby was about to kick him again, Luke warned her not to. "Shelby, don't even think about it. Or I'll let Jess keep both." Upon hearing the threat of losing an extra candy, Shelby stopped from proceeding with the kick. Jess did try to egg her on.

"Jess."

Jess finally fessed up and gave Shelby, back the extra piece of candy he took before heading upstairs before he could see her thumb's up thank-you gesture. Luke assured Shelby, they would keep her candy locked up in the safe. It would be all stored in a sealed container so none of the candy would melt on the important stuff he kept in there.

At bedtime, Luke helped Shelby wash her face, really well since she had kept the paint on, all day, making sure to scrub with a well-soapy wash cloth. Shelby was bathing on her own now, but he wanted to make sure it all came off.

"You know, Shell," he said, once he was finished.

"Wha'?" she asked.

"This is the first time I went out on Halloween in a long time. I was a kid the last time I remember participating."

"Really? Wow, ta' a long time," Shelby stated.

"Hey, are you saying I'm old?"

It made her giggle. "No, you say ta'," she pointed up at him.

Luke shook his head, smiling. He walked right into that one. Grabbing the kid's shampoo bottle, he lifted the cap and held it out to her, waiting for her hands. Shelby held her hands together while he squirted the right amount and lathered the shampoo in her hands like he had showed her, lathering the stuff into her hair. Shelby scrubbed the soapy liquid down to her scalp.

While she washed her hair, Luke got the wash cloth ready, rinsing the face paint off in the bath water. He draped it over the tub's edge so he could scoop up some water in the pitcher they kept in there. Making sure she was ready, Luke poured the water over her head, rinsing out all of the shampoo, doing it twice and re-lathered the wash cloth with more soap, passing it to her. With Shelby now washing the rest of her body, Luke went out to grab her pajamas, bringing them back. Afterwards, he let Shelby get dressed and brush her teeth.

After he took his shower and changed, Luke had Shelby read to him again for her daily reading, having her fill out her reading log when she finished the book. As part of her homework, Shelby had to read a different book every day. Video Game dialogue didn't count of course as Shelby tried that once. She didn't mind though. Shelby loved curling up in bed with her dad and reading to him, as long as he helped with the hard words. Even if it was a sound she struggled with, Luke helped her sound it out, slowly. Once they finished, the lights went out and Luke set the alarm clock for his usual morning routine.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

They arrived at the park early Saturday for the team photos. The parents of their team were glad theirs were scheduled before the game instead of after when the kids would have gotten dirty. Luke didn't really care one way or another whether Shelby's uniform was clean or not. Sure, he cared for her school pictures, but if it involved sports, it didn't matter. With sports, one can get a little dirty, especially if it's a kid. Over the last year of being a parent, Luke has come to learn that and backed off whenever his kid and dirt crossed paths. As long as Shelby wasn't eating or licking it, it didn't matter.

Luke and Rachel had agreed Saturday night would be the best time to try having Shelby sleep over at Rachel's. One, the kid was usually tired from t-ball, and being tired may help her be able to sleep through the night. Plus, she needed a good night's rest the night before her game and if Shelby did struggle, she wouldn't be awake enough and able to focus during the game.

Luke thought it would be best if he brought Shelby over there. He made sure Shelby had everything she needed or wanted. This time, Shelby brought both Pikachu and Maggie. Luke had asked Madison for any advice they could do to help her feel at ease. She gave a few suggestions, but most importantly Madison told him to make sure Rachel was calm, comforting, and patient, and to make sure Shelby knew the feelings she had was normal, and be prepared if Shelby wanted to come home early.

"Since she's comfortable in your home now, maybe try packing something that will remind her of home. Photos are excellent, like maybe one of you," she suggested. "When I take a kid from their home, they bring along a stuffed animal or a security blanket."

"Shelby doesn't have a security blanket. She still has Pikachu, and now she has a stuffed kitten she got for her birthday."

"Those could help. I've also had a child who held onto her mother's shirt because it had the mother's scent on it and that helped the child soothe herself whenever she got scared."

Luke stared at nothing at that. Finally he asked, "You want me to pack one of my shirts so Shelby could hold on to it?"

"I'm just listing off ideas as they come to mind. You don't have to use all of them, you know."

He sighed under his breath. "I know. I'm sorry. I appreciate the help, really."

"It's okay. I was just giving you a hard time," she assured him. "Besides, you wouldn't believe the many ways I've seen these kids learn how to self-soothe. Most of them don't have anyone to comfort them and assure them they're safe. In fact, I remember when Shelby was two years old, she would curl into a ball and cover her ears whenever something scared her. She would sit there frozen stiff, unable to move. Sometimes it lasted up to two hours."

Luke's eyebrows rose upon hearing a coping strategy his own kid used to do.

"I saw less of it as Shelby got older. Usually, she'd prefer to duck under or behind furniture. If that wasn't an option, she'd use it again. Of course, Shelby had other ways of coping, too, so…."

Eventually, Luke had thanked Madison and let her go. The guy was just a nervous wreck about the sleepover as Shelby was, if not more. It wasn't like Shelby didn't want to do it. She liked spending time with her mom and wanted to be able to spend the night, as well. It was having to sleep alone in her own room what was terrifing her. Luke tried to ask what it was that scared her about being alone, but he figured she was still too young to explain her feelings, well. All she could say was the dark scared her and that she didn't like being alone. When he asked Madison about that, too, she took a guess that it may have been always sharing a room with a foster sibling and never really had the chance to sleep alone, but then she remembered the times whenever she did sleep alone whenever Shelby slept in her hiding spots. Possibly Shelby could have picked up that problem once Luke got custody and the close quarters of his apartment got her used to it, or it might be a feeling of abandonment. Whatever it was, Madison told him it was good they were tackling this now when Shelby was still small, instead of waiting down the road before it could develop into worse problems for her.

On the drive over to Rachel's apartment, Luke made sure Shelby knew she could call him whenever she needed to, even if it was two in the morning and tried to make it sound great about trying to sleep in her own room, hiding his own insecurities, and how proud he would be that she could make it through the night on her own.

Once he pulled up to the apartment building, Luke parked and helped carry in the suitcase while Shelby carried both of her stuffed animals, clutching them to her chest. She held them up against her mouth.

"You've been to your mom's plenty of times, kiddo," he pointed out as they made their way towards the elevator once they got inside. "Just think of it as an extended visit."

They went up to the third floor.

Luke had to stop and stand in the doorway to keep the elevator doors open. Being gentle as possible, he gave Shelby a push just outside of the elevator, kneeling to her level. He held a gentle hand to her side.

"Hey, since you've been sharing secrets with me, will it help if I shared one of mine with you?"

She nodded, staring at him like a frightened mouse.

Lowering his head towards her, he said, "I get worried about you being away, too. I get scared at the thought of you being alone."

Her eyebrows rose at that. Leaning closer to him, Shelby softly asked, "You ge' 'cared, too?"

"Mm hm. You growing up scares me to death. But knowing you can do things on your own helps me feel better about letting you go. That make sense?"

Shelby nodded. "I be brave so you no be 'cared?" she asked still in a whisper.

Luke smiled. "That's right, kiddo. Remember what I told you, even if you're afraid, just jump, no matter what. You can do this."

Shelby took in a huge breath of air into her small lungs. With the pep talk out of the way, both of them made their way down the hall towards Rachel's door. She took another deep breath which Luke touched a hand to the top of her head before he knocked.

Rachel shortly opened the door. "Hey, peanut," she greeted Shelby first, greeting Luke when they stepped inside. "I'm glad you're here." Luke had already shared Madison's suggestions ahead of time, especially keeping things warming and positive from the start. She suggested getting everything settled in her room first.

"I brought in the radio so you can listen to your music, tonight," Rachel explained to Shelby. "I thought that might help you sleep."

Luke pulled out the CD they had packed and set it inside the CD compartment so it would be ready for when they went to bed. The three of them also unpacked the toys Shelby chose to bring, along with her favorite pajamas and hygiene stuff, hoping to help relieve some stress. Her body was still tensed even after the pep talk. One of the walkie talkies was placed on the nightstand and Luke handed Rachel the other.

"They both have brand new batteries," he explained.

She thanked him before turning back to Shelby. "I know you're scared, peanut, but I promise we're going to have lots of fun, and we can do anything you want to do. Is that alright?"

Shelby nodded. Her eyes were starting to moisten, though as her chest moved, a little. Both adults kneeled to her level.

Luke rubbed a hand against her back, in soothing circles. "I know it's scary. We'll all get you through this. Okay?"

Rachel pushed some hair behind Shelby's ear, "I will just be down the hall and you can call me if you need me to come check on you," she held up the walkie talkie in her hand. "Nothing bad will happen, I promise."

"But if it's really too much and you really feel you need to come home, I'm just a phone call away, kiddo. As a very last resort, though."

Shelby nodded, looking between her parents.

"Your dad and I love you, and want you to be able to do things on your own. We won't always be there and we need to teach you now so you'll learn. We're not doing this to be mean or push you away. We just want you to be able to be a strong, independent young lady. Do you understand what we're trying to say?"

She nodded again as Shelby squeezed the heck out of her stuffed animals. "Can you 'tay for a li'toe bi', Daddy?"

Luke exchanged a look with Rachel before turning back to their daughter. "I can stay for maybe another ten, fifteen minutes, but then I'll be intruding on yours and your mom's time together."

Shelby shook her head that time.

"No, I won't be intruding," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

She shook her head again.

"I thought we'd get into our pajamas early and start a movie marathon? How's that?" Rachel suggested. "We can even watch your _Pokemon_ movie if you want."

"I bring my Nin-ten-doh," Shelby said.

"Or we can play your Nintendo," she shrugged, encouragingly. "Should we go set it up now?"

She nodded.

Both Luke and Rachel stood up. Luke helped set it up to Rachel's TV out in the living room and watched Shelby play for fifteen minutes before he told her he had to get back to the diner. While she played her game, Shelby had begun to relax. Once she heard her dad needed to leave, Shelby tensed up again, running over to him as he kneeled to her level.

He gave her a long hug, as long as she needed, and kissed Shelby, good-bye. "You got this, Shell. I believe you can do this." Luke smiled at his daughter when she pulled away.

"I go' tis," she repeated her dad, trying to reassure herself. It took a while until Luke was able to leave, waving until he closed the door. As he stood out in the hall, Luke had to take a deep breath himself. This was going to be a long night for both of them.

Everything seemed fine during the day. Luke finished the day like any other work day and closed down the diner around ten P.M. He felt very sure this would be it. That he would be able to handle Shelby sleeping alone, and that she would be able to sleep alone.

Luke laid down in bed an hour after he closed and turned out the light. Two minutes went by before he switched onto his other side. Another two minutes and he was shifting back. He kept this up, back and forth until Luke finally gave up and laid on his back as he stared up at the ceiling. His mind started to worry. Was Shelby having just as a hard time falling asleep as he was?

Just as he laid there thinking, the phone rang.

Shooting out of bed like a rocket, Luke stumbled over to the desk, using it to catch himself. He snatched the receiver up, putting it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey," he heard Rachel on the other end. "Sorry about getting in touch so late. The last movie lasted longer than I thought it would. Shelby wouldn't go to bed without saying good-night to you."

"It's fine. I wasn't sleeping anyway," he assured her, relieved to know he could still say good-night to his little girl.

"Okay, here she is."

There was a short pause of silence before Shelby came on the phone. "Hi, Daddy."

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted, cheerfully, catching a groan over from Jess. It sounded like he was half asleep. Luke lowered his voice. "How was the rest of your day?"

"We go' ready for bed, early and played more _Pokemon_ , ten we ea'ed dinner and watched movies."

"Yeah?" Luke smiled.

"Yeah," she repeated.

"So you're having fun then?"

"Lo's of fun, Daddy."

"Happy to hear that, kiddo."

Shelby decided to go into detail about the rest of her day, telling Luke everything. He knew what she was doing. She was trying to postpone trying to go to bed. Of course, even though he probably shouldn't, Luke never stopped her. He just let her go on and on until it was Rachel, who he heard in the background, interrupt the kid's rant and told her to say good-night. There was a pause before Shelby said good-night, some reluctance apparent in her tone.

"Good night, kiddo. I love you," he told her in return.

"I love you too, Daddy."

"Remember, you got this. I know you can do it."

"Tank you," she replied.

"You're welcome."

Shortly after, Rachel came back on the phone and Luke went through the bedtime routine checklist. Once he was sure everything was done, the call ended there. For a minute, everything seemed fine, but once there was some hesitance, his overly protective, fatherly instincts kicked into high gear and Luke was finding it difficult to not go over there and call off the whole thing.

"We can do this. We can do this. We can do this." Luke kept muttering under his breath, making his way back to bed and under the covers. "We can do this." He repeated over and over until finally, sleep overcame him. It was a rough sleep that included tossing and turning, but it was sleep, nonetheless.

Luke was awakened, a few hours later, around two in the morning by the phone, once again. It alerted him straight out a sound sleep. Luke didn't even think twice, shooting out of bed and dashing over to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me again," Rachel's voice answered from the other end. This time, she sounded tired. "Shelby had woken up, crying and she says she can't go back to sleep without talking to you."

"No problem. Put her on."

"Here she is."

There was a short pause before Shelby came on the phone. "Daddy." It sounded like she was crying.

Luke backed up and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hey, kiddo. What's wrong?"

"I 'cared," she replied. "I no do tis. I wan' to go home."

"Sweetheart, you got this, remember?" He glanced at his clock on the nightstand, peering through the darkness, making out its hands pointed in the direction of a little after two. "You're halfway through the night. You can't quit now."

"I miss y-you and J-Jess. I wan' to go home." He heard her sniff.

"We miss you too, but you'll see us tomorrow."

Shelby was struggling to breathe as she cried into the phone. Luke ended up having to tell her to take deep breaths, doing it along with her. Not only to show her, but to calm his own nerves as well. How he wouldn't give to be able to give in and tell his little girl she could come home. It ended up looking like he would have to. Luke tried all he could to settle Shelby down and convince her to stay. The kid was just in too much distress to listen to reason.

Finally he said, "Okay. You want to call it a night and try this again, next weekend?"

"Uh huh," she replied. "P-please, Daddy?"

"Okay, I'll be over in twenty minutes, kiddo."

"Okay."

"Okay, give the phone back to your mom." There was a brief pause before Rachel came back on. "Hey. So I told her I would come get her and we can try this again next weekend."

Rachel let out a sigh. "Luke," she tried to object, tiredly.

"Rachel," he reminded her. "Madison said to expect this. We just need to keep trying until Shelby is able stay the whole night." Luke could tell Rachel did not want to give in, but sometimes one has to know when to surrender. "We may lose some battles, but we'll win the war. Just wait."

"Okay. You're a dork, but okay," she replied, forcing a short chuckle.

They hung up so Luke could throw on some shoes. Grabbing his jacket from its hook and his keys, he quietly left the apartment, heading downstairs and outside to his truck where he slid in under the wheel. Luke started the engine and turned the truck around to head over to Rachel's apartment.

The minute Rachel opened the door, Shelby jolted over and slammed into him, hugging Luke tight when he lifted her up.

"I already gave her a bath and had her change into fresh pajamas," Rachel informed him. Luke figured that was why Shelby wasn't wearing the pajamas he packed. "They're still in the wash, though, so I'll bring them over sometime tomorrow."

He thanked her. Having Shelby give her mom, a hug and kiss, Luke reassured again, they'd keep trying and he was good on his word. Over the next two weekends, they tried again, but Shelby could not make it through a whole night by herself. They tried all they could think of. Rachel even found a book at the bookstore and read through it, sharing with Luke whenever she found something that seemed good to try with Shelby.

The weekend of the second try was Shelby's last T-ball game. Everyone who showed to her first game, showed to that one as well since it was the last. Only this time, Sookie came with Lorelai.

After the game, they had a celebration at the diner where Coach Jameson passed out the participation trophies and team photos to the kids. Shelby was so excited to receive a trophy. The first time she played t-ball, Shelby was moved to another foster home before the season ended so she never got to finish and receive anything. When Luke came upstairs, later that night, he found it among his own trophies he received back in high school. He couldn't help smile when he saw it and mentioned it when he picked Shelby up in the middle of the night.

On the third weekend, with desperation, Luke ended up packing one of his shirts hoping Shelby having at least something of his nearby would be enough to help her feel at ease. The two packed that morning after breakfast to leave later that day. Before they left, though, an unpleasant incident occurred. It had nothing to do with Shelby, whatsoever, but it was a huge letdown for Luke that made him feel brokenhearted.

Luke had already overheard Rory mention the other night her mom was now a casual dater which had immediately gotten his attention while he was pouring coffee for another customer. He never expected just who Lorelai would date.

A younger man somewhere in his twenties walked into the diner with an older couple while the Gilmores were there, having lunch, along with Shelby. He recognized Lorelai, who introduced the couple as his parents.

Luke walked over behind the counter when Lorelai introduced him to both Rory and Shelby.

"Hey there, Shelby. Give me five," the guy held his hand up to the kid for a high five. Shelby just stared at him like a deer caught in headlights, freaked out and quickly turned her cap around, hiding her face.

"Shelby's shy," Luke spoke up for his daughter.

"Right, the hat trick," he pointed at him.

Luke gave him a strange look. How did he know about their hat trick? Nonetheless, he was a customer. "You ordering?"

"Luke," the guy pointed out how the two looked the same, including the baseball caps. "You must be Luke, right?"

"Yes, that's Luke," Lorelai confirmed.

The guy got very excited at knowing he was Luke. "Oh, man! Mom, Dad, that is Luke."

"We heard so much about you," his mother told Luke.

"Darn shame about that Rachel," the guy's father added. "Good on you for stepping in and raising your little girl, yourself, and keeping her in your daughter's life."

What the hell? Luke slowly looked over at Lorelai, confused, "Who the hell are these people?" He wasn't fond of the fact his personal business was being shared with strangers.

"Uh, Paul is my friend from business school," she answered.

"Yeah, we went out the other night," the guy, Lorelai called, Paul, added, more enthusiastic than her, "and she talked about a few people in this town, and you being one of them. So, nice to meet you." He saluted Luke.

Luke had slowly looked back at Lorelai as Paul was talking, giving her an _are you kidding me_ look. One, the guy looked so much more younger. But he was polite about it, giving the guy a fake smile before Paul ordered three coffees to go. While he was pouring their coffee, Luke overheard that Rory was smiling. Eventually, Paul and his parents left at that point, and she stated about always wanting a little brother.

When a couple orders were finished cooking, Luke took them over to their table. When he returned, Luke noticed the hat was backwards again, but Lorelai spoke before he could say anything to Shelby.

"What?" Lorelai asked of him. "You want to say something too?"

He looked down at his notepad and gave her a quick, "Nope."

"Please don't hold back on my account," she told him.

"I wouldn't."

Good."

Luke turned to a couple boys who had walked over and sat at the counter, next to Shelby, asking them if they'd move down a little to make him more comfortable. Lorelai stood up, announcing she was leaving. "Hey, how do I know what the cut off is?" he asked, innocently, though sounding like an ass.

She tossed the money she owed for hers and Rory's meals down onto the table. "And no tip. I wonder why."

"I mean, if you had one of those height bars, like at amusement park rides." Luke just smiled as Lorelai left, heading for the door. When she was gone, he turned back to Shelby. "We'll head over to your mom's in another twenty minutes, okay, Shell?"

Shelby nodded.

"Finish eating." Shelby picked up what was left of her cheeseburger when he told her to finish as Luke moved over to take the boys' orders.

Luke dropped Shelby off at the time he said he would. This time around, Shelby refused to give him a hug and kiss good-bye, thinking that would make things easier for her. It didn't. In fact, it may have made things worse. Like the many times before, Shelby was fine up until bedtime. Luke had begun pacing around the apartment waiting for her phone call, but it never came. Later, Rachel told him, Shelby did not want to call him at bedtime, either. Truth was, it made him an even more nervous wreck and Jess pointed out he was going to dig a hole and fall into his diner if Luke kept up that pacing.

Truthfully, Luke was trying to keep his mind on his own kid, on the count of, he didn't want to think about the fact Lorelai was dating again and someone so much younger she was. Of course, Luke hadn't of said anything like Rachel told to do a long time ago, and Lorelai deserved to be happy, no matter who she was with. That's what Luke convinced his mind to think and forced it to only think of his kid. At least he had one girl, for sure, in his life.

Somehow, Luke had managed to fall asleep. Unfortunately, around two-forty-five, he got the call he was hoping he wouldn't get and had to go pick up Shelby. She lasted a tiny bit longer that time so that was good progress.

The next day, Lorelai stopped by with Sookie on their way to Rory's school performance of _Romeo and Juliet_. Luke sucked down the bitterness he still felt, making his way over to take their order before walking away. He returned briefly with their coffee while Shelby stuck around and learned what _Romeo and Juliet_ was.

When he returned to refill their coffee, Lorelai suggested he and Shelby come and watch the performance.

"Can't," he declined.

"Come on," she insisted. "How often do you get to see teenagers speak Iambic Pentameter and kill themselves?"

"No thanks, but you have a good time. Bring plenty of baseball cards to pass out your phone number on."

Lorelai let out an annoyed groan as he walked away, his back to her. "Enough already! The horse is dead. His ashes have been sprinkled over the land. Let it rest." Shelby must have thought she was referring to a real horse who died, because she added, "I didn't mean a real horse, sweetheart. It's just a figure of speech."

Luke came by and suggested Shelby go upstairs and play while Miss Patty had come over to Lorelai, which ended up being a good thing to distract her mind on the count of the older woman's comment and Luke didn't want anything like that to be explained to the kid at this point in time, no matter how vague.

"I met him at business school, not his Bar Mitzvah," Lorelai was telling Sookie. "Business school has to indicate some kind of maturity, right?"

Before Luke walked away, he added, "Doogie Howser was a doctor at sixteen."

Lorelai pointed out, "Doogie Howser was not real."

"How sad for you."

"Luke," she told him as he walked away.

Luke returned around the counter. Shelby hurried over to him, using him to stop herself and tugged on the bottom of his shirt. "Give me a minute, Shell." He was pulling out a couple buns he was heating in the toaster oven.

Lorelai came over, asking what was up with him.

"Nothing's up with me," he told her over his shoulder.

"We were having a perfectly nasty verbal sparring match, and you suddenly walked away?" She was leaning on the end of the counter next to where Bootsy was sitting, who mentioned he heard about her dating a kid. "Please let something big fall on my head." He then told her about a time he dated an older woman who had suffered a heart attack and died, leaving him brokenhearted. Lorelai assured him she wasn't dating a kid as Luke walked around behind her, bringing their food to the table and followed after him. "Hey."

"I'm working," he told her. "Us older guys do that." Luke set the plates down on the table.

"Why are you being so mean to me?" Lorelai sounded hurt.

"I'm not being mean."

"Yes, you are," she argued. "You're being mean. Shelby will agree with me." She looked down where the kid had squeezed between their legs. Shelby shook her head, siding with her dad and motioned to speak into her ear. "Oh, he's picking on me like I pick on him?"

The kid nodded, seeming like his meanness was going over her head. Luke wasn't trying to sound mean. He just wished Lorelai would drop it and leave him alone before something happened that he might regret. Unfortunately, it wasn't going over Lorelai's head.

"Why are you so mad at me?"

Luke returned behind the counter, grabbing his notepad and slapped it back down in front of him, "I just think it's embarrassing."

Lorelai followed behind him. "What is so embarrassing?"

" _You_ running around with that kid."

"I wasn't running. He's not a kid. We had dinner," she said and quickly pointed out, "if you say, Chuck E. Cheese, I'll break your nose," in a mocking, teasing way.

Luke suddenly looked up at her, in all seriousness. "Hey, I'm not gonna say anything. You go live your life as you please. I got work to do." That said, he picked up his notepad and walked away.

Shelby hurried around the other end of the counter, cutting her dad off, still wanting to tell him something.

He kneeled down to her level. "What is it, Shell?" Luke finally asked, holding his head low enough where she could whisper to him.

"Can I go see Rory's play?"

"No, kiddo," he told her and put the suggestion of going upstairs and playing, out there again.

"Bu' Rory came to see mine," she pointed out.

"I said no, Shelby," he reinforced his answer.

"Please, Daddy?" The kid tried her pleading look, trying to butter him into letting her go.

Luke kept refusing to give in, but now that Shelby was coming to be completely comfortable, she actually kept it up as any average kid that wanted something would. Up to this point, she had always accepted his first response no matter what it was. Luke was glad she was that comfortable with him and wasn't sure why he wouldn't give in, as there wasn't any harm in it, but he just continued saying no. It actually got to the point, Luke wished Shelby had accepted his first response because what happened next, he would never be able to forgive himself.

"Pre'ty please, Daddy?" Her expression had looked the most adorable Shelby had ever looked, too, but the build-up he was filling inside of him. It wasn't from Shelby, but she ended up being the target.

"I said, no, Shelby! I told you to go upstairs and find something to do!" he snapped. It was loud enough it silenced the entire diner as they stared over at them. Shelby froze as she stared up at him, like an animal caught in a trap. The look she gave him would eventually haunt him later on.

Turning on her heel, Shelby made a fast beeline for the stairs.

Realizing his mistake, he tried to call after her, but Shelby just kept running, tripping on one of the lower steps. He saw her knee collided with its edge, but it didn't stop her, either. Luke felt all of the eyes on him, finding it hard to hold any kind of eye contact with them. When his met with Lorelai's, who was shaking her head, lost and confused, Luke quickly headed after his daughter.

Shelby had already made it inside the apartment when he reached the top of the stairs. Swallowing back a pain in his chest, he slowly made his way over, hesitating from opening the door. What made him not open it was Jess' voice coming from inside and it didn't sound like the tone he had come to be used to from the boy. Putting his ear to the non-see through glass, he listened in on what Jess was saying. It sounded like Jess was actually asking his cousin what was wrong.

"Come on, Scout," the boy was saying. "Tell me what's wrong? Do I need to go beat up someone for ya?"

No answer.

"I'm not gonna leave you alone until you do." Movement and squeaking was heard coming from what seemed to be one of the beds. "Don't make me pull you out." Oh, God! Was Shelby hiding under the bed again? The last time she hid under the bed was when during the tiff with her mom. Luke silently kicked himself for being the cause this time. Jess never was a patient one. "Come on, tell… What?" There was a brief silence before he said, "your dad, what?" Another pause.

Luke couldn't hear Shelby at all. Jess seemed like he was having trouble hearing her and he was right there.

"He scared ya, huh?" His heart just about stopped at what Jess had said. He closed his eyes at it. "Yeah, he seems to scare a lot of people," Jess tried some lightheartedness. "What?" He paused once again before he suggested, "Then call her….Yeah. If that's what you want. The guy has been weird the past few days. Maybe staying with your mom would be good for now." The bed moved again and Luke heard Jess' footsteps, and him picking up the phone before asking if she knew her mom's number.

Luke leaned on the doorframe, his heart crushed as he heard tiny muffles as Shelby talked to her mom. He couldn't understand what it was she was saying, but he had a pretty good idea. Not even when Shelby had grabbed onto her cousin despite his protests for her to let go could make Luke smile. Quietly, without being heard, Luke made his way back downstairs and tried to continue working. He was basically a walking zombie. Both Lorelai and Sookie had already left for Hartford.

Eventually, after a while, Rachel entered the diner, walking over when she spotted him.

"Hey, what happened? I got a call from Shelby, wanting to come back," she told him, with concern and confusion.

"I, um...I snapped and raised my voice to her," he admitted, ashamed. Luke could barely hold any eye contact with her.

She looked alarmed, but still managed to remain calm. "What? Why?"

He hesitated, taking a deep breath first. "Shelby wanted to go see Rory's play, but I told her no. She kept bugging me until I just…." His voice trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

Rachel shrugged, even more confused. "I don't understand. She finished her homework with me, yesterday. I mean, tonight's a school night, is that why she couldn't…"

"I don't know why I told her she couldn't go, Rachel. I just told her to go find something to do upstairs and she wouldn't drop it, so finally I just lost it. It's not one of my proud moments!" He hadn't meant to snap at her, either. What was wrong with him?

"I wasn't trying to pick a fight, Luke," she explained to him, surprisingly still calm herself. "I was just trying to make sense of the situation."

Luke took another deep breath. "I know. I'm sorry, Rachel. I guess I'm just a little on edge, today."

"Want to talk about it?" she asked, folding her arms. Luke responded with a look that she knew that was a definite no. Rachel held her hands up in defence. "Sorry, just thought I'd ask." She lowered them and asked, "are you okay with Shelby sleeping over on a school night? I mean, I'll take her to school in the morning and she has clothes there."

"Yeah, it's fine if that's what she wants. I'll probably come get her later anyway," he assured her.

"Okay," she nodded. Luke gave her the okay to head up there and get her. When she turned to head around the counter, Rachel asked if he was going to be alright. He assured he would be...well, eventually, but Luke didn't mention that part.

Rachel returned downstairs, five minutes later with Shelby hiding beside her, letting him know they were leaving. When Luke looked up to acknowledge her, he couldn't help notice Shelby was wearing her t-ball cap instead of the one he gave her. His heart pretty much was all shattered by this point. She used it to hide underneath, not looking up when her mom asked if she was going to say good-bye to him. Rachel shared a look with Luke to show him she understood how he felt before the girls left the diner. After the week he had, the guy never thought a heart could break so much.

It remained on his mind for most of the afternoon and into the evening. He didn't say much except for what was needed when addressing the customers or his employees. Earlier's events replayed over and over in his mind, and the look Shelby gave, broke his heart each time he saw it. Luke just couldn't believe he had lost it on his own kid, the one who looked up to him and idolized him.

Every time Luke turned around, his gaze met with Shelby's first picture she had colored for him, that still hung on the wall, behind the counter. With some down time, Luke tinkered with his watch, trying to stay busy. It wasn't easy though.

Sometime around nine, Lorelai and Sookie returned, this time with Dean and Rory. He heard Lorelai tell them to grab a table before walking over to him.

"Hey," she greeted.

"How'd it go?" he asked, not looking up from his watch.

"Ahh, you know, I think Shakespeare will recover."

"That's good." Truth was, Luke still did not want to talk at that moment and hoped she would just order and leave.

"How's Shelby doing?" she asked.

"Went back to her mom's. Probably go pick her up later tonight." He kept his answers short, hoping Lorelai would take the hint, as he continued to tinker with his watch.

She didn't. "I'm sure everything will be fine," Lorelai assured him.

"Yep," he agreed, while the look that still haunted him, disagreed. Luke had an awful feeling in his gut this may be the night Shelby will finally be able to spend the whole night at her mom's, a night that was supposed to be a proud moment for him.

He heard her take a deep breath, letting it out before she asked, "Are you good at dating?"

The question caught him off guard. Luke wasn't even sure if he heard her, right. "What?" he questioned.

"Dating," she gave a short chuckle. "Do you have that down?"

He stared at her in confusion. "Okay," Luke shook his head, "if this is about that kid…?"

Lorelai shook her head, "No, it's not about anything. It's just a question."

Breathing in through his nose, he said, "Well, I don't know if I have it down, considering I live with _my daughter and nephew_ ," Luke put emphasis on the fact he lived with a couple of kids, "I'd say, probably not." He continued tinkering with his watch again.

"I don't have it down either," she replied. "I've never been very good at it, really."

He looked up at her with just his eyes, nodding as Lorelai continued.

"Never even really liked it. It's too much 'what if.'" She glanced down at the floor, briefly. "I-I like things I can count on. I mean, uh…" Lorelai glanced out the corner of her eye. "Actually, with Max," that grabbed his attention real fast, "it was the first time I was finally like, 'hey, here it is, that one person who will always be there for me,'" Lorelai had briefly perked up, shrugging a hand out. She frowned, looking away, "and then I turned around, and...it's suddenly…" she paused for a moment until she said, "Oops. Wrong."

Lorelai sighed. "Keep moving."

Luke stared at his watch as he asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't have very many people in my life who...are…" she struggled to find the right words, "...that are in my life. Permanently, forever."

Luke stared up at her out of the corner of his eye.

"They will always be there for me. I will always be there for them. You know?"

He finally lowered his watch as Luke stared at her. It felt like someone was sticking a band-aid on his poor heart. He eventually set the watch on the counter he was leaning against as Lorelai continued.

"There's Rory and Sookie. This town…" she hesitated before Lorelai added, "and you, and Shelby." Luke couldn't help look up and smile a little. "I mean, at least I _think_ I've got…"

"You do," Luke blurted out, now leaning a hand on the counter, trying to hold back the amount of relief he was feeling now.

Lorelai nodded at the floor. "Good," she said and looked up to shrug. "Just checking."

Luke couldn't help smirk even more, a small laugh slipping out as he looked away. Picking up the small tool he was using, he said, "So tell me about... _Romeo and Juliet_."

She smiled back at him. "Well," she said. "It's so depressing everybody dies. But the clothes were so cute."

"Life can be funny that way," he nodded with a smile. They both did as Lorelai told him all about the play. It felt good to smile and laugh a little, glad to have made up with someone. Despite the guilt he still felt, it was also nice to be able to do it through the pain he was going through.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

By bedtime, Shelby was still over at her mom's, so Luke went to bed, thinking the call would come in the middle of the night. But when it was his alarm clock that woke him from his sleep and not the phone, he thought it was all a dream. He looked over at the bed beside him to find it empty.

Jumping out of bed, Luke checked the bathroom, finding it empty. He checked under the beds, looked around the apartment, checked out in the hall and downstairs. Shelby was nowhere to be found. Luke ended up calling Rachel. It rang a few times before she answered, groggily.

"Hello?"

"Is Shelby still over there?" he asked, anxiously.

There wasn't an answer at first. All that could be heard from her end was the bed moving. "Sorry, still waking up. Now what were you saying?"

"Did Shelby sleep the whole night at your place?" He was even more anxious than he was before.

A yawn had escaped before Rachel answered. "Yeah, she did…" It dawned on her, fully awake now.

Neither one said anything for a minute as it sunk in. Shelby made it through one whole night at her mom's. Surprise slowly turned to proudness for both parents as Luke couldn't help smile. She did it. Shelby did it.

Luke heard Rachel choke out a sob, but it sounded happy. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she told him. "I'm just so relieved to know our daughter slept over here with me."

"Do you know if…? Did Shelby wake up at all during the night?"

Rachel paused for a moment to remember. She panicked. "I don't recall...I hope I didn't sleep right through her cries." He heard her grab the walkie talkie and the static from it.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking to make sure the walkie talkie still works and the volume is up enough," she explained. "Seems to be." Luke heard the bed creak. "I'm gonna check on her."

Luke sat down on the edge of the desk. He still couldn't get over his little girl had made it through the night.

"Good morning, peanut," he heard Rachel say and heard Shelby's bed creak, guessing she probably sat down. "Did you sleep all right?" Luke could also hear Billy in the background, singing one of the later songs on the CD, so Shelby must have been awake for a while. He had gotten her used to his sleep schedule after all. Suddenly, his heart sank when he heard Rachel say, "No? How come?" There was a long pause before Rachel asked, "did you have any bad dreams? Yeah? Did you try to wake me? I don't remember hearing anything. How come?"

Luke never thought a heart could skip more than one beat in under a minute.

Rachel returned her attention to him, "Luke?"

"Yeah, still here."

There was a pause including a door being closed before she answered. "I'm worried. Shelby hasn't said a word since we went to bed, last night and even before then, she hardly spoke at all, except maybe one or two words. Just now, all she did was nod or shake her head, and shrug."

He held his face in his free hand, rubbing at his eyes. He hoped what happened yesterday didn't reverse everything they had worked so hard for. Luke sighed under his breath. "Well, don't force her to talk. Just give her some time. Should I pick her up from school?"

"Well, let's see if Shelby wants to come home yet or not and I'll let you know."

Luke ran the same hand through his hair, placing it on his side afterwards. "Yeah, okay. I'll talk to you later." He quickly remembered. "Do you have everything? Did Shelby take her backpack with her?"

"Yeah, I made sure she had everything she needed for school."

"Okay. Well then, I'll let you go. Tell Shelby I love her and to have a good day at school."

"I will. Bye." Both of them hung up.

Luke stared at the phone in his hands, regretting all over again as the event replayed in his mind. Why did he have to lose it on her? Luke felt like a great big, mean jerk.

Shelby ended up choosing not to come home after school. In fact, she ended up staying through until Wednesday. She would have stayed longer, but Thanksgiving was that week and Rachel had given her a choice: either come with her to her family's Thanksgiving dinner or go home and spend it with her dad and cousin. To their surprise, Shelby had chosen to come home. Guess, even though she was afraid of him, she was even more afraid of her grandfather.

Lorelai had stopped by the diner for lunch and coffee, on Tuesday and had told Luke about running into Rachel and Shelby that morning. "As soon as she saw me, she ran right over to me and gave me a hug."

Luke smiled at that. "She likes ya," he shrugged.

"It was a little concerning, actually."

The smile quickly dropped into a frown. "What do you mean?"

"I noticed Shelby wasn't letting go, and was squeezing more than she normally does," she explained. "When I got down to her level, I saw she was crying and grabbed onto my neck. I kept trying to ask what was wrong, but she wouldn't tell me and Rachel didn't have a clue, either."

Luke stared at a rag he had sitting on the counter, playing with it in one hand as he picked it up and dropped it again. "Shelby hasn't been home since Sunday."

"Oh…" Lorelai gave him an apologetic look. "That had to be scary for her, having her favorite person in the world yell at her like that."

Yeah." Luke just kept staring at the rag. "At least something good came out of it."

"How do you figure?"

He told her about Shelby making it through the night, and at that point, two nights. This was not how they were hoping, but at least it did. It turned out, though, Shelby wasn't sleeping through the night, however. She just never said anything to her mom. She was waking up the next morning, wet. Tuesday night, Rachel started setting two alarms, one to go off in the middle of the night when Shelby usually woke up, so she could go check on her. Sure enough, Shelby would be awake, and crying, too. Rachel had told him, Shelby had let her hug her, but she hadn't grabbed onto her like she had with Lorelai.

Wednesday evening, to his surprise, Rachel dropped Shelby off which she explained about Shelby choosing to come home.

Luke had tried to kneel to Shelby's level, to talk to her, but the kid took off for upstairs, clutching her stuffed animals in her arms.

"I told her I'd pick her up Friday when I returned," Rachel said as he stood back up.

"Great. Sounds good," he forced a smile. In reality, Luke was hoping he would be able to convince Shelby to stay. Three days without seeing his little girl was rough on the guy. The month she spent with Rachel was stressful in of itself.

Rachel ordered a coffee to go before heading back out to her SUV for the long drive to Providence.

Luke finished out the evening before finally closing down around nine. Once he was all finished, he headed for upstairs where Shelby was playing her Nintendo 64, already in her pajamas and curled upright on the end of the couch. Walking over, Luke sat close by. "Hey, kiddo. You winning?" He couldn't help notice her body tense up when he sat down.

Shelby continued playing, in the middle of a battle at the moment. So he kept quiet and watched. Even at her age, Luke couldn't help notice how much strategy Shelby used while playing, not just picking random attacks like the boys did, but actually thinking before choosing. He figured having a mentor who got her into the series probably helped with that.

Once she finished the battle, Luke told her she could continue playing while he showered and got ready for bed. Afterwards, he told her to finish the battle she was in the middle of and then turn it off. Shelby did just that before saving her game and stood up to go turn off the console, going to brush her teeth and use the bathroom.

As Luke was pushing back the covers of his bed, he couldn't help notice Shelby was trying to climb into bed with Jess.

"What are you doing?" Jess questioned.

Shelby stood up, onto her knees and whispered something to him. Whatever it was caused the boy to jerk his head, back.

"I don't think so, Scout. I am not sharing the bed with some little kid." With Luke in the room, Jess was back to his tough, cool self. When he told her that, Shelby then gave him a push. "Hey! What was that for?"

She answered by trying to shove her whole upper body against him.

"Shell, knock it off," Luke scolded the little girl, trying to sound as gentle as possible. He didn't want to scare her any more than he already has, but Luke also did not want to get too lenient on her either.

Shelby stopped, but sat there, staring at the bed.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" When she wouldn't answer, he told her to tell Jess if she didn't want to tell him.

After a minute, Shelby leaned over and whispered something to Jess.

Jess stared at her. "Where am I supposed to sleep?" he questioned.

Shelby pointed over at both her dad's bed and over at the couch.

"So you're kicking me out of your bed? I'm hurt," Jess teased, but it caused her to give him a guilty look.

"Jess," Luke told him, before turning his attention to Shelby. "Shell, are you sure?"

She nodded at the bed.

Taking a breath in, he told Jess to strip the bed while he went over to the dresser and pulled out Shelby's bedsheets. Once Jess had striped the bed, Luke remade the bed, including the mattress protector, letting Jess know to tuck his sheets into the couch between it and him.

"Friday, we'll see about getting one of those cots that fits underneath the bed and we can keep it under Shelby's during the day," Luke explained to Jess as he tucked the sheets around the corner of the mattress. He was having Shelby help as well, taking one end. They spread out her comforter, last.

While Luke was grabbing Shelby's pillow from his bed, Shelby was putting her CD in the radio, pressing play. Jess objected to it at first. Luke started to step in, but he was slowly learning his kid may have Jess wrapped around her finger by this point because he let her play her music and just headed back to the couch without another word.

With the bed remade, Shelby climbed in under the comforter and laid down.

Luke sat on the edge of her bed. He leaned forward, each hand on either side of Shelby, catching her tense up again. "Kiddo, I just want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, how sorry I am for raising my voice to you. I didn't mean to scare you and I feel terrible about what happened."

Shelby was laying on her side, curled in a ball, holding both stuffed animals as she stared at nothing. He watched her for a moment. When it seemed like she wasn't even going to look at him, much less say anything, Luke lifted himself to hover over her and gave her a quick kiss on the side of her forehead.

"Love you, kiddo." He then stood up and went to turn out the lights before getting into his own bed.

Thankfully, despite being in her own bed, Shelby was able to sleep through the night. Though she did wake up long enough to use the bathroom. It was a relief she felt safe and comfortable sleeping at home, still.

The next morning, Luke and Shelby were the first ones up and got dressed. Luke made breakfast for the two of them, downstairs, so they wouldn't wake Jess, along with the morning customers. Afterwards, they headed back upstairs to brush their teeth. Once they were set for the day, Luke turned on the parade for Shelby, making sure the sound was low, but loud enough Shelby could hear. He sat and watched, not having seen the parade since he was a kid. While watching, Luke recalled curled up on the couch as a little boy, with his mom and sister as they watched together. It sure had changed a lot since he had last seen the parade that ran through the streets of New York City. Since his own mom passed away, it had been too hard for him to watch as he grew older. In fact, Luke felt the urge to stand up and go start on the turkey.

Just as he was about to stand, Shelby suddenly bolted around the coffee table, hiding on the other side.

Confused, Luke asked, "What's wrong, Shell?" He looked over at the TV to see the clown guy from the McDonald's commercials waving as the camera switched to different angles. She remained in hiding until Ronald McDonald had passed by and leaned her upper body on the coffee table to continue watching. If Luke had to take a guess, the kid had a fear of clowns.

Not wanting to push her about it, Luke told her he was going to go downstairs and start on the feast. "I could use my little assistant," he told her.

Shelby continued to watch the parade, leaning over her arms.

Luke let her be and headed downstairs to start cooking the turkey he had prepared the day before.

As they have every year, Lorelai and Rory dropped by, bearing flowers, which Luke and Lorelai had the exact same argument they have every year about what he was going to do with flowers when he didn't own a vase. In the end, Rory put an end to it and Luke just tossed the flowers on the counter.

Luke headed upstairs to let Shelby know they were there, telling her to turn off the video game she was now playing when she finished the battle.

Eventually, she came down and made a beeline for Lorelai. For the rest of the time she was there, Shelby clung to her side and sat close to her as they ate. Rory ended up leaving first before dessert, to head for Dean's, to have dinner with his family. Lorelai stayed for another half an hour, not wanting to miss out on the pie Luke baked.

"You want some pie, sweetheart?" Lorelai asked for Luke as they finished eating.

"Don't worry, kiddo," he assured Shelby, sitting across from her. "I made sure to make apple, too."

"Shelby doesn't like pumpkin, I take it?" Lorelai guessed.

Luke wiped the corners of his mouth on his napkin. "Shelby's allergic to pumpkin, along with other things in the squash category," he explained, "including zucchini and cucumber."

She nodded, "So that's why she never wants pickles on her cheeseburger."

"Yep. Shelby loves apple, though. Right, Shell?" he smiled over at her.

Shelby didn't respond. She just stared at her plate, slowly working on what was left of her green bean casserole.

The smile quickly vanished. Luke stole a look over at Lorelai who gave him a reassuring smile that told him this will pass. Her and Rory had moments like this where they didn't speak to the other and it always blew over and brought them even closer. He couldn't help wonder if that was even possible as close as the mother and daughter were. From what the guy could tell, how much closer can two individuals get? But Lorelai assured him it was possible.

Honestly, it was something Luke wondered about of his and his daughter's relationship. They had already become so close in the past year, and the kid had opened doors to things Luke never thought would open in his life and he couldn't help be curious what other doors would cross his life's path in the future as being a father.

Once it was time for Lorelai to leave, Shelby became even more clingy.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong? Why don't you want me to leave?" she asked, kneeled at her level.

Shelby didn't make eye contact. Just stared at nothing, biting down on her lip.

"I have to go check in at the inn, make sure Michel hasn't scared anyone away," Lorelai told her, trying to add some lightheartedness to the situation to at least get a smile.

Shelby's chest started moving in and out as her eyes watered. Lorelai told her, gently, to take deep breaths, but she couldn't get the kid to talk, not even a whisper. She tried holding her, and even went upstairs, kicking Jess out so they would be alone, to help ease Shelby's anxiety. Nothing. Shelby just clung to the young woman. She even tried to encourage her to write her feelings down on paper. Shelby wouldn't even do that, not even draw them, either. All the kid would, or could do, was cry.

After a while, Lorelai came back downstairs.

Luke, who was a nervous wreck about the whole situation, perked up like a dog who was being offered a treat. Eager and hoping for a resolve.

"I offered if Shelby would like to spend the rest of her holiday break at our house and she nodded yes," she explained.

His heart dropped. "Yeah, okay. That's fine," he managed to say. "I mean, Rachel said she was going to pick her up tomorrow when she got back from her parents', but if that's what Shelby wants to do."

Lorelai was holding Shelby in her arms. She turned her attention to the kid. "Is it still what you want to do, sweetheart? Or do you want to go back to your mom's?"

Shelby had nodded while Lorelai was finishing her question.

"You want to come to our house?"

She nodded once more from her shoulder.

"I'll let Rachel know when she gets here tomorrow," Luke said. He headed upstairs to pack some clothes and other things Shelby will need, including her stuffed animals, and knowing his kid, her Nintendo 64. When he returned downstairs, Luke overheard Lorelai telling her, she would have to come to the inn with her, over the weekend since Rory had plans to spend with Dean and Lane, and homework, as well. It seemed like Shelby didn't mind. "Are you sure you don't mind? I don't want Shelby intruding on anything you had planned, or feel like you're obligated."

"Really, Luke, it's fine," she assured him. "Shelby won't be intruding on anything, I promise. Whatever it takes to help her move past what happened last weekend, I'm good on. Maybe by the end of the break, she'll be up for talking again. Who knows, maybe Rory will be able to get it out of her. She _was_ the only successful one to find out why she was mad at her mom."

"True," he said, remembering when Rory had blurted out. It did seem like the older kids were having more luck with Shelby than they were, at times. He wasn't sure what kind of power Rory, or even Jess had. Luke was just thankful they had it.

So Lorelai didn't have to carry the suitcase all the way to her house, Luke offered to give them a lift, closing the diner in the meantime. While he was gone, Caesar and the other guy cleaned up which Luke gave them the rest of the day, off, once he got back, and worked the evening shift by himself since there weren't that many customers. The whole time, Shelby remained on his mind.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Shelby was the first thought he had when he woke up the next morning. He laid there, staring up at the ceiling for a few minutes. Being a parent felt like the hardest job Luke ever had. Only his kid could make his heart feel this way. At least he'd see Shelby this morning since the Gilmores come by almost every morning for breakfast.

Of course, being a holiday weekend and people passing through on their travel caused the diner to be packed, that morning, so Luke was plenty busy. It took a hundred times, but he finally got Jess downstairs to help out.

Things were so hectic, Luke hadn't noticed the Gilmores and Shelby stop by until he took the plates that were freshly made and started to head around the counter. His leg bumped something, almost causing him to stumble. Thankfully, he was able to catch himself and hold onto the plates, without spilling any of the food.

Luke moved one of the plates out of the way to see who he had bumped into. Shelby had been standing there, next to the counter, waiting for him, too shy to approach him, he figured. He had noticed she had a habit of standing somewhere without saying a word, sometimes in the way, until someone noticed her. "Shell, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't stand in the middle of the walkway." He quickly set the plates down on the correct table, apologizing for the long wait before returning to grab the coffee pot to refill their coffee. Once their cups were refilled, he went back over, kneeling to Shelby's level.

Shelby was rubbing her nose in a vertical manner like it hurt or something.

"Did my leg bump your nose?"

She nodded, not looking up at him.

"Let me see." Luke gently pushed her hand away to examine her nose. He held her face in his hands, touching around her nose with his thumbs. Since there wasn't any bruising and it didn't appear to be swollen, Luke figured she was fine. "I'm sorry, kiddo. I didn't see you there. You're so quiet." He smiled to show he was teasing her.

Shelby didn't. Instead, she leaned back against the side of the counter, pressing her hands on it, behind her and moved the toe of her sneaker along the floor.

"Hey, I hate to rush ya, but I gotta get back to work. We're packed this morning, is there something you need?" She sucked her bottom lip in, chewing on it. He moved his head in, closer to hers so Shelby could whisper to him. "What's up, kiddo?" Luke urged her, holding a hand to her arm.

"Wan' to talk."

He looked at her. "Now? Can it wait 'til later, or do you need to talk now? 'Cause if you feel you need to talk to me, we can go in the back," Luke pointed over his shoulder. If something was bothering her, he didn't want to prolong it further than they had to. But at the same time, they were all running around, making sure the customers weren't waiting too long.

Shelby muttered something. He couldn't really tell what she had said, but Luke caught the W sound so he figured she said, it could wait.

"You want to wait?"

That time, she nodded at the floor.

"Are you sure?"

Again, she nodded.

"Okay, kiddo. Go sit with Lorelai and Rory, and I'll be there…" Luke rose to his feet, jumping out of his skin when he realized the girls had sat down on the end of the counter. "...Aw, jeez. Don't scare a person like that."

Lorelai shrugged. "We were just sitting here. Not our fault you're easily freaked out," she harmlessly teased him.

Luke glared at her as he went to grab the coffee. Realizing he had to make more, Luke quickly got to work on it, telling them they were going to have to wait a few minutes unless they wanted decaf which caused him to receive a look as if he admitted to supporting dog-fights or something. Of course, Luke should have known better than to suggest decaf.

"OJ, Shell?" he asked Shelby, now that she had climbed onto the stool a customer had deserted when he was ready to leave.

She nodded at the counter.

When Luke returned, he set the glass of orange juice on the counter in front of her and took their order.

"Hey, got something to show you later but it has to wait until I develop the film," Lorelai held a small, flash camera up to show him. "I think you're gonna love it."

Luke finished writing their order down, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "What is it?" he asked, looking up. He caught Rory rolling her eyes as Lorelai assured him, it would be great, and that he would have to wait and see. Just accepting it, Luke walked away to fill the orders and was finally able to pour their coffee.

The breakfast crowd didn't thin out by the time the girls finished eating. It wasn't too bad since Lorelai and Rory usually kept busying talking about their usual topics afterwards. It was getting close to the brunch hour which would lead into the lunch hour. That said, Luke knew he wouldn't get a moment's peace any time soon. So he decided to go ahead and pull Shelby to the side so they could talk about whatever she needed to tell him once she was finished with her breakfast.

In the back, away from the crowd, Luke kneeled to her level, resting his arms on his knees. "What's going on, kiddo?"

Shelby stared at the floor, grabbing onto her two-layered blue, long-sleeved t-shirt that had a generic dragon on the front. She was still wearing her t-ball cap on her head, but at least it was backwards.

"Take your time, kiddo."

Backing up against the wall behind her, Shelby pressed her hands on it, behind her. Her gaze remained on the floor.

"You can say whatever is on your mind. I promise I won't yell at you again." It was a relief to know she felt she could approach him after yesterday. Lorelai and/or Rory must have been able to talk to her while Shelby was over there. That, plus each day can have a complete turnaround with this kid. Even with how much Luke had come to learn about his daughter, he still did not one hundred percent understand at times.

"I…." It was barely audible, but Luke was able to hear it without straining his head. She hesitated for a moment. "I sorry."

"You're sorry?" he questioned, gently.

She nodded.

"Kiddo, there's nothing you need to apologize for. You didn't do anything wrong," he assured her. "Only I needed to."

Shelby tensed up, chewing on her lip.

"I was upset about something else and I took my frustrations out on you and that wasn't right of me, and especially wasn't fair to you. Okay?"

She shook her head, slightly.

"What, kiddo?" Luke was confused. Giving her a minute or two to respond, he eventually said, "you don't need to blame yourself for what happened. It wasn't your fault. It was mine. You did nothing wrong, I promise."

That time, Shelby nodded her head, still not lifting her gaze.

"Why do you feel it's your fault?"

Tears began filling up in her eyes. It was apparent Jess hadn't gotten the whole story out of her that day. Something else must have been bothering her besides Luke scaring her.

Luke told her to take deep breaths, over and over again.

Shelby wiped at her eye with the back of her hand. Finally, she was able to speak. "I make you mad." As she got the words out, it produced more tears.

It then came back to him, remembering why she had been upset with her mom. It made sense now. "Kiddo, you didn't make me mad. Something...else was bothering me. It had nothing to do with you, I promise."

She continued to nod. "My faul'," she said, trying to say fault.

Luke shifted on his legs, scooting a bit closer to her. "Listen to me, Shelby," he told her, firmly, but kept his tone gentle as he held onto her waist. He lifted one of his hands to lift her chin, to make sure she heard him. Luke hated forcing eye contact when he knew eye contact was a struggle for her, but he wanted Shelby to understand what he was telling her. "I don't want you blaming yourself for what happened. You did not have anything to do with me getting mad. We have control of our own emotions and I should not have yelled at you. Sometimes, though, we do lose control and take it out on those around us. That still doesn't excuse it and I cannot say sorry enough to you. Do you understand, now?"

That time, she nodded, seeming like she accepted it wasn't her fault.

"You are a great, sweet kid, Shell. Nothing you do can ever make me stop loving you." He smiled at her.

Shelby didn't smile yet. "Jess mad ah me?"

"Why would Jess be made at you? Because you took your bed, back?"

She nodded.

"I don't know, kiddo. You would have to ask Jess," he said. "You're not in trouble for it, though. It was your idea to let him have your bed and you can take it back whenever you want to. Once I can get away from the diner, we'll go get Jess a bed of his own and it can fit underneath your bed during the day so it won't take up space. It'll all work out. Don't worry."

"I missed you ah Mom's house," Shelby admitted.

"I missed you too, kiddo. It's not the same without you. I like having my little assistant around," Luke grabbed at her stomach which at least got a smile as she touched where it tickled. A thought suddenly occurred to him and it gave him the best idea that he could do to make it up to Shelby. "Hey, how about to make it up to you, next weekend, you and me go camping. I'll have to pull you out of school Friday, but it'll only be for one day and you haven't missed a day yet, anyway. So how about it?" A lump had gotten caught in his throat at the thought of November thirtieth being here once again. He stifled it down, knowing there was only one person he would be willing to be with on that day.

Not even Shelby could resist a camping trip with her favorite person in the whole wide world. She nodded at the idea.

"Yeah? You want to?"

Shelby continued nodding.

"Well...wait, I'm not sure if you're serious. Do you really want to go?" Luke asked once more, in a teasing manner. Shelby giggled, holding her shoulders up towards her ears and nodded. Out of nowhere, she leapt forward, grabbing onto him and hugged her dad around the neck. It surprised him enough for Shelby to knock him off his feet, catching himself with one hand and held his other arm around her. Now sitting there on the floor, Luke wrapped both arms around his little girl and squeezed her in a tight hug.

Shelby pushed away to ask, "Can I come home, today?"

"Of course, you can come home whenever you want to," he replied.

"I can help in the diner because your busy," she offered.

"Sure, if you want to, kiddo."

"I do."

"Well then, go let Lorelai know you want to stay so she can leave for the inn." Luke let her go and had her do just that.

After letting Lorelai know she wanted to stay, Luke put her to work. Some customers commented on how adorable their server was whenever Shelby brought them their orders, even receiving tips from them. Whenever a table became empty, he would toss Shelby a rag and have her go wipe it down once the table was cleared of the dishes, so the next customers could sit. Every forty-five minutes, Luke did have her take a break. It was impressive how long the kid lasted for.

Around lunchtime, Rachel returned, not alone this time. Her mother, Edna had come back with her. As soon as Shelby set down the plates that were given to her, she rushed over to hug her mom.

"Hey, peanut. You're looking chipper than last time."

Luke walked over right as Shelby was whispering something to her.

"Oh, sure you can stay home, but your grandmother here came back with me for a girl's weekend. Can you come back for a few more days? Then I can bring you back Sunday. How's that?"

Shelby shook her head.

Edna spoke up at that point. "Please, hun? I had been hoping to see you yesterday, for Thanksgiving. I missed you."

Shelby gave her grandmother her puzzled look.

"I'd wished you had called first, Rachel," Luke spoke up for their daughter. "Shelby cut her weekend with Lorelai and Rory short to come home."

Rachel looked up at him. "Shelby went to Lorelai's?" She stood up as Luke filled her in on what had happened. Even though he did know what had been bothering her, Luke still wasn't sure why she had clung so tightly to Lorelai, except maybe it was because she was the only one Shelby felt close to for comfort. That was a mystery that might never be solved. "Well, I'm glad everything is okay, I guess." She folded her arms, lightly, across her chest. "It makes sense Shelby would want to stay home with you," she replied in understanding.

"I have an idea," said Edna, looking between the younger adults. She stopped on Luke to ask, "Instead of the whole weekend, can Shelby spend one night with us?"

"It's not up to me, it's up to what Shelby wants to do," Luke told her.

The older woman switched over to her granddaughter. "Is that alright with you, Shelby?"

Shelby grabbed onto her dad's leg, hiding her face in it.

"I haven't gotten to see you since your birthday party and I would really like to spend some time with you, and smother you with grandma kisses, and spoil you with lots of hugs and love."

Luke was about to mention Edna couldn't do stuff like that until Shelby was used to her, but thankfully Rachel did.

"Mom, we talked about this on the way here."

"I know, I know. It's just, Shelby is the only grandchild I haven't been able to love on and I don't want her to feel left out." Edna looked like a child who had been told no whenever they asked for candy at a grocery store check-out.

"I understand, Mom, but it's different than with the boys and Katie. Shelby needs time."

While Rachel was explaining to her mom, Luke kneeled to Shelby's level, wrapping a hand around her back.

"I know you want to stay home, kiddo, but maybe spending some time getting to know your grandmother will be good for you," he explained, receiving a pitiful look. "It'll just be for one night and we can do something tomorrow. How's that?"

There was some hesitance, but Shelby nodded.

Luke pulled her in for a comforting hug. "If you need to, I can always come pick you up, early," he assured her and felt her nod from his shoulder. Luke grabbed her jacket from where he hung it up that morning. He couldn't help smile when Shelby ran over to hug Jess around the leg, making the boy feel embarrassed. It was nice to see somebody else turn different shades of red other than him as Jess squirmed. Out of the corner of his eye, Luke could tell it made Rachel feel uncomfortable as well.

"See ya, Scout," Jess told her when Shelby let go.

Shelby hurried back over to give her dad a kiss good-bye, along with a hug before he watched them leave. Rachel had thanked him for encouraging Shelby, but once they were gone, Jess walked by.

"You shouldn't have done that." The statement caught Luke, off guard.

"And, why's that?" he asked of the boy.

Jess just shrugged, not saying another word as he walked away.

Surprisingly, Shelby stayed at her mom's the whole time until Luke came by to pick her up on Saturday and it turned out, it wasn't that bad.

On the drive home, Shelby finally spoke up again.

"Dad."

"Hm?" he acknowledged her, glancing over at her from the corner of his eye.

"Can you have more ten one...singer?" There was a word unidentifiable, but Luke figured she was trying to say favorite.

"You can have as many favorites as you want. Who is it you like now?"

"Mom le' Granma pick the music in the car so we li'tened to a CD she brough' of tis lady named Reba. Do you know her?"

"Uh, yeah, I've heard her on the radio a few times. So you like Reba now, huh?"

Shelby nodded. "Granma showed us her new show ta' was on, las' nigh'."

His eyebrows rose. He didn't know the singer was doing TV now. Then again, he didn't really keep up with pop culture.

"A law was on too and we watched tem all."

"That's cool," he nodded, glad his daughter had a good time after all. "So you're not mad at me for suggesting to go spend another night at your mom's?"

She shrugged, "I' okay, Dad. I no mad a' you."

Luke smiled over at her for a second, keeping his main focus on the road. "Good."

There was a moment of silence before Shelby asked, "You sure you no mad a' me?"

"Yes, kiddo, I'm sure I'm not mad at you. In fact, I could never be mad at you, you're too cute."

That made her smile which was always contagious.

When they got home, Shelby dashed upstairs, to switch to her old hat. With some down time before the dinner rush, Luke kept the diner closed and the two walked over to the park where they played catch, back and forth.

While they tossed the ball, Lorelai came over.

"Hey, sorry about not coming back, yesterday. The inn ended up being pretty crazy, yesterday," she said. Shelby had rushed over to hug her.

"No problem," Luke assured her. "What was it you wanted to show me?"

Lorelai opened a film envelop from a photo store, taking out a stack of photos and started shuffling through them, putting each one at the back until she found the one she was looking for. She held it out to him with the picture facing him.

Luke took it from her to get a better look. It was a picture of both Rory and Shelby, sleeping in Rory's bed.

"Rory said Shelby climbed into bed with her during the night and after they chatted for awhile, they both fell asleep before Shelby could make it back to the couch. I found them like this the next morning and thought I'd take a picture to show you." She held her arms crossed as she stood beside him, smiling at it.

Luke couldn't help smile either. "It's a great one, that's for sure."

Shelby wanted to see for herself so Luke held it out to her. He figured she would be embarrassed about having her picture taken while she was asleep like Rory was, but Shelby only grinned from ear to ear.

"I got doubles so you can have it if you want," Lorelai offered.

He thanked her.

"I'm just glad Shelby's back to her cheery self," she said, looking over at the kid.

"Same." Luke couldn't be more glad his little girl was speaking to him again. Though, she wasn't talking as much as she had been, she was holding conversations with him at least. He'd take what he could get to have her back and be able to hear her sweet voice again. So they did take a few steps back as Luke had feared, but it wasn't that worrisome. Maybe their camping trip will help bring her back out of her shell some more.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The next week flew by fast. So fast it felt like one long day. Luke made sure they had everything ready, Thursday evening, with bags packed, by the door. Jess was the only one who knew the two were going camping, obviously, since he lived there and Shelby being excited and all. Luke had him promise not to say anything to anyone, just to tell them they would be back Sunday, promising a bonus in his pay if the boy kept his mouth shut and asked him not to burn the place down while they were gone.

"Why no Jess come too?" Shelby asked.

"Well, because I thought we could spend some bonding time just the two of us," Luke shrugged.

"It's cool, Scout. No one can pay me enough to sleep outside on the ground, anyway," Jess replied over on his cot.

"He's right, Shell. I tried taking him when Jess was around your age and he hated it. I never could get him out there again," he told her, adding, "some don't like to camp and that's okay," when Shelby looked disappointed.

Early, the next morning, after loading the truck, Luke and Shelby were off, towards their camping spot. Luke had planned ahead of time, making sure Shelby could make up the schoolwork she would miss that day, so that was all taken care of.

Still being early, the town's streets were empty so it didn't take long to leave. The radio was mostly morning talk with a song thrown in, here and there. Other than the radio, things were pretty quiet between the two. Luke had made a "no electronics" rule the last time they went camping, so Shelby couldn't bring her Gameboy with her. She did bring a book Shelby had checked out from the library at school when her class visited the other day, picking out a _Little Critter_ book about camping with Little Critter's dad, in light of their weekend. Being a short book, Shelby read through it a few times.

After a hour and a half long drive, Luke finally pulled into their campsite and parked, starting their trip off with their usual hike. Somewhere along the trail, Shelby had found a stick and brought it along, using it like a sword and hitting pinecones. When she started hitting the pinecones, Luke decided to give a few pointers since he had gone through a hockey phase as a kid, showing how she could hold the stick.

"Hey, would you like to give hockey a try?" he suggested afterwards, kneeled at her level.

Shelby shrugged. "I no know how to 'kay."

"That's fine. Maybe this winter, I can teach ya, and then next winter when you have more time to think on it, we can give it try. What do you say?"

"I wan' to play t-ball again," she told him.

"You can play both, or any sport you want, I'm just givin ya suggestions," he assured her.

"Can I play all of tem?"

Luke looked at her in surprise. "You want to play every sport?"

She shrugged.

"Including golf?"

Shelby paused to think on it and shrugged, "Sure." Even he wasn't really a fan of golf, but if that's what the kid wanted to do.

"Okay, well, I'll look into it. See what I can find."

They continued on with their hike, getting back to their campsite around lunchtime and set up the tent first. Luke set up the campfire while he had Shelby gather the wood. Afterwards, he made sandwiches for lunch.

For the rest of the afternoon, Luke and Shelby fished. Nothing was really biting so the two just sat in silence, waiting. The wait time didn't really help Luke much, as his mind wandered away and thought about what occupied his mind every year around this time.

Shelby must have eventually noticed because after a while he felt a finger poking his leg, repeatedly, over and over.

He snapped out of his thoughts and looked over at his daughter. "What is it, kiddo? You got a bite?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I wan-ted to know if your okay?"

Luke smiled for her. "Yeah, I'm okay, kiddo."

"You no look okay," Shelby continued to shake her head. Nothing could get passed this kid. "You look sad. Are you sad?"

Luke stared down at the fishing pole in his hands. "I...um…" He wasn't sure if he should tell his six-year-old about what today was or not. Would she understand? Luke didn't want to bring down the mood of their father-daughter trip. What does one say in a moment like this? Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, letting it out. Since Shelby knew about death already, Luke felt it was the right choice to tell her, her grandfather had passed away on this day, several years ago.

"You miss Granpa?" she asked afterwards.

He nodded. "Yeah."

Scooting closer, Shelby wrapped an arm around her dad. With her arm sort of on the short size, it couldn't fully wrap around him, but it was still an A for effort.

"I' okay, Dad." Luke couldn't help smile down at his little girl as she tried to comfort him. He wrapped his own arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks, kiddo."

Shelby ended up asking several questions about her grandfather, which turned into wanting to hear stories about the man. Since the fish weren't really biting, the two ended up leaning against the log they had been sitting on, as Shelby held onto every word. It actually helped Luke a little, sharing stories about William, and even about his own childhood. Shelby's favorite ended up being when he told the story of his first camping trip.

"Would Granpa like me?" she asked after a couple hours.

"I'm sure he would have loved you," he told her.

"Would Granpa make me talk like my o'ter granpa?"

"Nah, he would have been patient with ya. Your grandpa didn't talk much, either."

Things got quiet for a minute until Shelby broke it. "I wiss Granpa could be here," she admitted.

Luke reached over and gently gave her right knee a squeeze. "So do I, kiddo." At that, Shelby moved closer and snuggled against his arm, resting her head on it.

For dinner, since neither was able to catch anything, Luke fixed up a stew, enough to feed the both of them while he let Shelby explore around the campsite. He made sure she remained in eyesight. The kid still had her stick, so she had taken to trying to hit rocks with it like it was a baseball bat. He told her to stop though before she hit a critter or another camper.

Once Shelby got tired, she came over, behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder.

Luke turned his head back and kissed her cheek. "Dinner's about ready."

"Okay," she uttered, softly.

"Tired, huh?"

Shelby nodded from his shoulder.

It was already dark out, so the only light was mostly from the campfire.

"So are you too tired for…" Luke reached over and pulled out the supplies to make s'mores, to show her.

Of course the kid perked up upon seeing what he had brought for dessert. After dinner, Luke helped Shelby with her skewer, letting her put her own marshmallow on the end. Very carefully, she stuck it in the fire for a split second before taking it back out and blowing out the flames from the now roasted marshmallow. Luke pulled it off between the graham crackers and chocolate square, forming a small sandwich and passed it to her. By the time he had made his, Shelby's cheeks near her mouth was covered in graham cracker crumbs and gooey marshmallows. To make it complete, Luke swiped his finger in his s'more and touched it to the tip of her nose, wiping melted marshmallow on it.

Shelby flinched from his touch, a laugh escaping. She stood up to give her dad a big, gooey kiss on the cheek, as revenge. Part of his cheek was now covered in marshmallow and graham cracker crumbs.

"You little scamp," Luke teased her, but couldn't help snicker. He let Shelby have one more before having her clean off with a wet-wipe, getting what she missed, afterwards.

After brushing their teeth and changing into their pajamas, along with making sure the fire was completely out, the two moved inside the tent where Shelby had Luke read aloud to her from her library book, by the lantern Shelby had gotten him for his birthday, a few weeks ago. As per request, Luke had brought along his guitar, giving Shelby another music lesson.

This time, he had Shelby sit in his lap and helped position her fingers on each string, starting with an easy song for her, called "Smoke on the Water," having her try on her own, as well.

"Yep, you got this," he praised as Shelby positioned her fingers the way he showed her, before showing her the next note. As the hour passed, Shelby learned how to play the song on her own.

"I did i'," she said, excitedly, looking up at her dad, upside down.

"Yeah, you did. That was great, kiddo."

"You play a song now, Daddy."

"Okay." Keeping Shelby on his lap, Luke positioned his own fingers on the strings and played the George Strait, "Love Without End, Amen." After hearing it that day on the radio, Luke knew he needed to learn it, but changed some of the words to fit his own kid. On the second chorus, Shelby joined in, singing with him as she held her head against him. When the song was over, Shelby fought back a yawn which meant it was time for bed.

Setting the guitar off to the side, the two climbed into their sleeping bags. With winter around the corner, it was a chilly night so Luke had packed extra blankets, spreading them out over their sleeping bags. With both Pikachu and Maggie clutched in her arms, Shelby snuggled beside her dad, both sleeping in, a couple hours than usual.

Once dressed for the day, Luke made scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast.

"What should we do, this morning?" he asked while they ate.

"Um," Shelby briefly thought about it before blurting out, "Play ball."

Luke chuckled. Of course that was her next choice. Had he created a monster having Shelby give t-ball another chance? So after breakfast, the two grabbed their gloves and Shelby grabbed the baseball, spreading out to face each other.

Shelby winded up the first pitch as Luke had once showed her, trying to copy the exact same way. She pitched the ball, throwing it towards him which Luke caught in his glove.

"Good one," he praised and pitched it back.

Shelby had to run after the ball when it missed her glove.

Luke punched the inside of his glove. "Good try, kiddo. Come on, show me what else you got."

Winding up as she done before, Shelby pitched another, putting all she had into it. Luke had to reach out and catch it that time.

"Come on, Shell. That was a ball. You don't want the batter to walk, do ya?" He tossed it back to her. That time, Shelby managed to barely catch it, using her other hand, as well and positioned her feet and body to pitch the best throw she could muster up. "Let's go, kiddo," Luke punched his glove, hunched over. "Bases are loaded, two outs, and two strikes. If the batter hits a home run, the other team wins. Do you want that?" he harmlessly egged her on, in encouragement.

Shelby narrowed her eyes towards her dad's glove and winded up once more.

"Right down the plate. You got this, Shell."

She pitched it just as he told her to, making sure her elbow was aligned as it should be. It flew from her hand, straight to Luke's glove which he caught.

"Strike three! You're out!" he mock called like an umpire would. "Shelby Danes has won the World Series!" Luke saw a smile crack on her face. Shelby dashed over and tackled him around the legs. Luke lifted her up above his head and set Shelby on his shoulders. As he held onto her, Luke ran in circles as if he was running a victory lap around the bases. She held on tight to his wrists but Luke could hear her squeal in excitement. He had never heard her yell out before and couldn't help fill up with excitement.

Finally, after the victory lap, Luke lifted Shelby down and back onto her feet. When he kneeled to her level, the kid ambushed him, knocking Luke backwards, pinning him. Sitting on top of her dad, Shelby smirked, showing off her dimples.

"Gaw you."

"Oh, you think so, huh?"

She nodded.

Quickly, Luke grabbed onto her waist and lifted Shelby off of him, gently flipping his daughter onto her back, pinning her so he could ambush her with a series of tickles.

"Who's got who?" he asked as he continued, getting every ticklish spot Luke could find. "Huh?" Shelby squealed with laughter, pinning her upper arms to her body, trying to protect herself, but her dad managed to get around them. After a minute, he ceased his ambush attack, letting Shelby catch her breath.

Shelby breathed in and out, her dimples still showing as she looked up at him.

"Had enough?"

Shaking her head, Shelby tried to pull herself free until Luke started again, stopping her from doing so. "Dad...dy...no...fair…" she managed to say in between laughs.

Luke leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, holding it for a few seconds. His stubble must have tickled her cheek because Shelby continued to laugh. Finally, he got off to let her up. When she was on her feet again, Shelby grabbed onto his neck, in a light hold which he wrapped his arms around her legs.

"You feel be-ter tan yes-ter-day, Daddy?" she asked.

He smiled up at her. "You bet, kiddo."

"Ta' good." Shelby was leaning against him as he sat back on his heels.

"What would I do without ya?"

She just shrugged. "I no know."

Luke couldn't help chuckle.

For the most part, Luke and Shelby spent the weekend, fishing, playing catch, and spending time with each other before having to go back home. Shelby had the most fun. So much fun, Luke had to carry her upstairs and lay her down in her bed.

Once Jess got a whiff of them, he quickly jumped up on his feet and moved far away as possible. "You both stink!" he stated, holding his arm up to his nose.

"That's called the smell of camping," Luke told him as he removed Shelby's jacket, careful not to wake her.

"That's called odor that is in desperate need of a shower," Jess replied in sarcasm and left the apartment, stating he wouldn't return until the two bathed.

Once Luke had her jacket and shoes removed, he took a shower and changed into clean clothes. Letting Shelby sleep, Luke headed downstairs and opened the diner for the dinner rush. He headed back upstairs to wake her after a couple hours, so Shelby would still be able to sleep that night. Usually, after a camping trip, Luke had the kid take a shower instead of a bath since the kid tend to get a lot more dirty.

"Lorelai and Rory coming to ta diner?" she asked as he dried her hair with a towel.

"I don't know. Maybe. We'll see." Since Shelby wanted to work her two hours, Luke had her get dressed in clean clothes, letting her dress herself in jeans and a long-sleeved, black _Pokemon_ shirt, along with her sneakers.

As soon as Luke opened the door, he heard Jess not getting along with someone, downstairs. "Aw jeez," he mumbled under his breath and hurried down there just as Jess shoved passed him and a ticked off Rachel standing on the other side of the counter. He looked between his nephew, who was heading upstairs, and the mother of his daughter. "What's going on?"

"Ask him," she motioned towards the stairs with her head where the boy was already gone. "I just asked if he could go let you know I was here to see Shelby when he ignores me. When I had to repeat myself a few times, he decided to turn around and give me a bad attitude."

"I'm sorry. I'll talk to him about it," he assured her.

Shelby had went back up the stairs, returning while Rachel tried once again to voice her concern with Jess being around Shelby.

"That still isn't your call and the two are fine around each other," Luke told her.

She let out an annoyed sigh. "Whatever, Luke." Thankfully, she changed the subject when Rachel noticed Shelby. "Hey, peanut. How was your weekend with your dad?"

Shelby was leaning against the wall by the stairs. She held a thumb's up.

"There's nobody else in here, peanut." Right as Rachel said that, the bell above the door dinged, letting them know someone had walked in.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt. We saw you were back." The moment Shelby heard Lorelai's voice, she made a dash for her, tackling her legs. "Whoa there," she snickered, holding a hand to the top of the kid's head. "Happy to see you, too."

Luke couldn't help smile at the scene, but it quickly left when he caught Rachel sigh in disappointment under her breath, her shoulders drooped a little. That had to be hard to watch one's kid be more excited for someone else. He couldn't help feel sorry for Rachel.

Next, Shelby moved on to hug Rory, just as happy to see her. Luke let Shelby visit with them while restocking the napkins if she wanted to earn her allowance pay for the day. While making a fresh pot of coffee, Rachel spoke up.

"Hey, I know you just got home and all. I was just wondering if I could take Shelby, tonight, and I can take her to school in the morning."

"Honestly, the kid's gonna be really tired in a little bit. I see Shelby going back upstairs in an hour and either laying down to watch TV or play her video game. Maybe next weekend, that way the two of you can have more time to spend with each other before bedtime," he told her, scooping the coffee grounds into the pot and slid it back into place.

"Okay," she agreed. Rachel went over to join Shelby and the Gilmores, and eventually chatted while they ate dinner.

Luke ended up being right. Just over an hour, Shelby wandered over and patted his leg to get his attention. "What is it, Shell?" He bent over to give her his ear.

"I no wan' to work, anymore," she shook her head.

"Tired?"

Shelby nodded.

"That's fine, kiddo. Go upstairs. I'll be up there after closing time." Luke stood up as Shelby turned and headed towards the stairs, watching her head up to the apartment.

Over the next week, Luke couldn't help wonder about Shelby and her mom, especially when she wanted him or Jess to take her to school. On Wednesday, Luke ended up having to take away TV and her video games when she refused to let Rachel pick her up from school.

He had tried to ask Jess why he had given Rachel a hard time and if it had anything to do with why Shelby was giving her mom another cold shoulder.

"I don't know why Shelby's pissed at her. 'Course, who could blame the kid when her mom's a total bitch," the boy plainly shrugged.

"Jess," Luke scolded.

Jess was wiping down tables Luke had asked of him. "I can see the way she looks at me and feel the cold vibe she gives, so…" The boy walked to the next table that was cleared off, going quiet again, thus ending the conversation.

Getting nowhere with Jess, Luke headed upstairs where Shelby was working on her homework and sat on the chair, next to her, where she was sitting at the table.

Luke folded his arms on the table. "Hey, kiddo. Can we talk for a minute?"

"I 'till in trouble?"

"No, it's not about that. Well, it kind of is. I just want to know why you're not talking to your mom again, and why you refused to listen to her, today? You created a scene in front of your class when you wouldn't go with her."

Shelby stared at the worksheet she was working on, holding both hands on the table. She began chewing on her lip.

"What's going on, kiddo? Did your mom say or do something to you?" He saw her nod her head. Keeping his voice, gentle, Luke continued to probe his daughter. "Did she do something?"

Shelby shook her head that time.

"She said something to you?"

Hesitating at first, Shelby nodded her head as tears appeared in her eyes.

Luke reached a hand over to rub along her upper back. "It's okay, Shell. Take your time. Can you tell me what she said? Did she yell at you like I did?"

She shook her head.

Luke looked down at the table, trying to think of what it might be so he could ask her. "Did you get into trouble while you were over at your mom's?"

She shook her head again.

At that point, Luke couldn't think what it could be. The last sleepover had been a success. Unless it was during last week when Rachel picked her up from school. Noticing her spelling notebook, Luke pulled it towards him and ripped out a blank sheet of paper, pushing it towards her.

"Can you write it down for me?"

Shelby used the hand that was holding her pencil, to pull the sheet of paper closer, but didn't write anything. Not yet.

"If your mom says something that upsets you, Shelby, you should let me know so the three of us can discuss it and fix whatever was said. You won't be in trouble, I promise." It took another five minutes before Shelby finally wrote what her mom had said to her as Luke read along. "Your mom said you couldn't call me to come get you?"

Chewing on her lip again, Shelby nodded.

"When? When you spent the night while your grandmother was here?"

She nodded once more.

"I thought you have a great time while you were over there?" he questioned, confused. So it was during the last sleepover. Shelby wrote more. "Not at bedtime?"

She shook her head.

"Are you still getting scared, sleeping in your own room?"

That time, she nodded again.

Luke pulled her chair out, a little and leaned forward on his knees. "Kiddo, I understand it's scary, but you have to learn to sleep by yourself in your own room. Your mom won't let anything bad happen to you. Monsters aren't real, you have a nightlight and your music, plus you have Pikachu and Maggie. What is it that scares you?"

Her chest was starting to heave as she stared at nothing in particular. Spotting an anxiety attack a mile away, Luke sat up and lifted Shelby onto his left leg, holding her in his arms. He rubbed her upper arm, not even trying to talk to her until the anxiety passed. It took twenty minutes of silence, repeatedly rubbing her arm until Luke felt her breathing return to normal. She mumbled something, but it was too quiet and muffled to hear or understand her.

"What, kiddo? I can't hear you," he told her, gently.

Shelby closed up for another five minutes until she finally repeated, a little louder. It wasn't enough for him to understand, though.

"Kiddo, I can't understand you when you mumble. You want to write it down like before?"

"...Lore-lai...mm…?"

"What about Lorelai?"

Shelby clung onto his shirt in a tight grip, still staring at nothing.

Luke rubbed her arm some more, hoping she'd repeat herself and clear where he could understand her.

"Take your time," he continued to assure her.

Another five minutes went by until she managed to speak, taking deep breaths as if she was running. He kissed the top of her hat to help ease her nerves.

"You're doing good, kiddo. It's okay."

"...my mom?" The first part was still muffled.

"What about your mom?"

She managed to shake her head. Luke wet his thumb to wipe away the dried up tear stains. "W...Lor-lai...my mom?" Part of it was still muffled but it was enough he could try and guess what she was saying.

"Your mom told you something about Lorelai?"

Shelby shook her head.

Luke tried to think about what Shelby was trying to say. "Kiddo, I don't understand."

"Why…?" That was all she was able to get out that time.

"Why, what?"

There was another long pause before Shelby was able to finish. "Lor-lai…" she took a breath, "...be...my mom?"

"Why can't Lorelai be your mom?" Luke was confused. "Your mom asked you why couldn't Lorelai be your mom?"

Shelby shook her head.

Even though it verbally came out clear, it wasn't clear in his mind.

"I…"

"You're asking that?" he asked when she didn't finish.

Shelby nodded that time.

Luke's heart shattered upon hearing his little girl wished she had a different mom. "I'm sorry this happened, Shell. Your mom shouldn't have done that. If you felt you needed to come home then your mom should have called me, and I'll talk to her about this."

"No go back," she shook her head, still not looking up.

"Not if I tell her your mom can't refuse to let you call me in the middle of the night? She has to listen if I remind her, sweetie."

She shook her head again.

"Well, we can take a break from the overnights and pick it back up, next year after the holidays, and you can just go spend the day at your mom's, and she can bring you home at bedtime. Want to do that?"

Shelby continued shaking her head. "Wan' Lor-lai."

"Kiddo, I know you really like Lorelai, but that's not how things work. She's Rory's mom. I'm sure she'd be flattered but you can't just chose something like that. Your mom is trying though. We just have to be patient with her. I don't always get it right, either. Remember?"

She nodded.

"I'll talk to your mom about this, okay?"

Shelby finally lifted her head to say, "No tell Mom abow Lor-lai," as she shook her head, repeatedly.

"I won't tell her about wanting Lorelai as your mom, I promise. Not if you don't want me to. What if your mom agrees not to do it again, though. She likes it when you go over there. Don't you?"

Shelby gave it some thought that time but still continued to shake her head, no. He knew she did like going over to her mom's but wasn't going to push her if Shelby didn't want to at the moment.

Finally, Luke had to give in. "Alright. If that's what you want. You don't have to see your mom if you don't want to. Just let me know when you are ready, and I'll let her know there's gonna be a break between the two of you, for the time being." Kissing the top of her head and squeezing Shelby to him, he let her get back to her homework, asking if she needed any help. The worksheet was on writing numbers as tens and ones up to twenty and Shelby was already halfway through the problems. He checked the ones she had done, helping her with the ones she missed. The only other homework she had was a science worksheet on matching baby animals to the adult counterpart, and her daily reading, so Luke let her be, letting her know to come down when she got hungry.

As Luke left the apartment, one thing was for sure: Rachel was not going to like this one bit. Then again, he didn't like what she did, either.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Luke waited until Shelby was in school to go talk to Rachel about what she had confessed. With Rachel working during the day, he had to go her photography studio. Asking if he could a get minute of her time, she had Kirk watch the front while they went in the back, to her dark room since Rachel had some photos to develop.

"What's up?" she asked as Rachel started the process of cleaning a roll of film. "Did you find out why Shelby was acting that way?"

Luke took a quick deep breath, letting it out. "Yep."

She offered him one of the stools that were in there, sitting down on another while sliding the film onto what looked like an oversized sewing spool. "Okay."

Sitting towards the edge of the stool, Luke held onto it as he began. "Well, it was a process getting it out of her."

He heard Rachel snicker. Not in a mean way, but in a knowing way that was typical of Shelby. "It usually is," she said in agreement.

"I finally had her write it down, and…" Luke paused, hesitating with his thought.

Rachel glanced up from where she was wrapping the film onto the spool, the end twisting up on her in the process. "And?"

Taking another breath, he said, "Shelby says you wouldn't allow her to call me that night she slept over with you and your mother."

Upon hearing that, he could barely make out her hands drop into her lap as she let out a defeated sigh. "She's still upset over that?" she asked with concern.

"Guess so," Luke shrugged.

"What happened to the kid being forgiving?"

"Well, when you pull something such as that after I have said over a dozen times, if she needs to come home, I will come and get her, then yes, I imagine that would take a little time to forgive."

"Luke, she had slept over three times, and now four. There is no reason to keep that option on the table." Rachel reached over and grabbed some kind of container, pulling the cap off so she could drop the film inside.

"She was scared and upset with me, Rachel. Shelby had nowhere else to go, so she had no other choice but to stay," he pointed out.

"Yes, and I understand that, Luke, but" she stood up to fill the container with some kind of chemical liquid, "regardless of the reason, Shelby slept the whole night in her room, without having to go home and she lived. There's no reason why she can't continue staying the whole night. I'm right down the hall and Shelby can call me on the walkie-talkie. She doesn't need to go running to you every time she gets scared. She needs to learn to depend on the other people in her life and herself."

"Yes, I can agree to that, but you can't go against what I told her, especially without telling me."

Rachel turned around, now rolling the container in her hands. "If I _had_ called, would you have backed me up?"

Stumbling on his words, he said, "Y-yes." Luke cleared his throat and forced out some confidence. "I would have encouraged her to stay, and reminded her she had done it already."

"Really," she nodded, sounding as though Rachel wasn't buying it.

"Yes, really. I am the one who convinced her to spend the night in the first place."

"Okay, yes, I'll give you that, and I felt so relieved when you did that. That was awesome of you." Rachel poured out the chemical in the wide sink that was in there, to add the next chemical.

"And I told her if need be, I'd come get her, early," he added.

"I didn't hear that part," she admitted. "Still, though, you shouldn't have told her that, Luke."

"Why not?" Luke questioned of her. "I tell her no matter where she goes. Whether it's to your place, or Lorelai's, or her friends'. Doesn't matter. If Shelby ever feels she needs or wants to come home, she can and I will come get her so you won't have to."

Rachel dropped her head in frustration. She picked it back up to look around the room as if to gather her bearings before responding. "Luke, do you want to know what my mom said when I told her about you being able to come get her in the middle of the night?"

Luke folded his arms. "What?"

"She says, if we allow Shelby to go home in the middle of the night whenever she gets scared, then we are teaching her it's okay to quit something when things get hard."

He shot up from his stool, defensive. "Coming home in the middle of the night when she gets scared does not teach her to quit when things get hard. When I signed Shelby up for t-ball, I told her she had to finish the season out, and if she didn't want to do it after she finished, then she doesn't have to continue with t-ball," Luke shot at her.

Rachel shrugged her hands out. With the container sitting over on the counter, she stepped closer to him. "That's great to hear, Luke, but by this point, it's getting ridiculous that Shelby can't stay the whole night when she has done it four times. And by the way, when Shelby shared this with you, did she mention how she tried to hit me?"

His hard expression softened and Luke looked taken aback. "What?"

"Uh huh," she nodded, already knowing the answer by his response. Rachel folded her arms, lightly, glancing down at the floor. She looked up to say, "after I told Shelby, she couldn't call you to go home, I tried to offer to comfort her, myself and said I'd read her a story. I went to hug her and she did this shove thing to me and slapped my arm and I had to back away. I told her I wasn't going to help her if she was going to choose to be violent, so I turned off the light and left the room. Mom tried to offer to go in and help her, but I told her not to, because I didn't want violent behavior rewarded. Once I switched the laundry over, Mom and I went back to bed."

Luke was outraged to hear Shelby was left alone while she was in distress. "She probably cried herself to sleep, Rachel," he told her, raising his voice.

Rachel shrugged, holding it, "I didn't like doing it anymore than you do, but it had to be done, Luke. Shelby can't always run to you and she does need to learn to self-soothe, sooner or later."

"She has learned to self-soothe, Rachel. Shelby had to do it for the first five years of her life," Luke shot at her. "Now, because of what you said, Shelby doesn't want to go back your place, anymore."

"And let me guess, you're allowing it?"

"I told her, we'd take a break until after the holidays, and try again next year."

Rachel nodded towards the floor. "So I don't even get to see her for Christmas? After I didn't get to spend Thanksgiving with her either."

Luke softened at that. "Come on, Rachel. It's Shelby's choice."

She shook her head that time. "I honestly think you give her too many choices."

He looked over at her, in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

Looking up, she said, "you tell her she can go home whenever she can, so she does," as she shrugged. "As long as she has the option of going home whenever something scares her or gets hard, she will. You told her she couldn't quit t-ball, so she stuck it out."

"Yeah, because Shelby was enjoying it."

"She was enjoying being at my home, too. But because she had the option to leave whenever she wanted to, including in the middle of the night, Shelby does. Do you see my point, Luke? I mean, did she ever ask to come home when Shelby slept over at Lorelai's?"

He wanted to say yes, but Luke knew even on the very first night, he never received a call from Lorelai, asking to come pick Shelby up.

"You say you want us to work together, but how is this working together?"

Luke didn't respond. He stared at the floor. It felt like he was backed into a corner and couldn't get out. "We're not taking the option off the table." he managed to reply. "I'm willing to agree to anything as long as that option stays. It's an agreement we have and I'm not going back on it."

"Well then," she said, defeated. "I guess Shelby won't ever be able to sleep over."

"I'm sure she will," Luke tried to assure her.

Rachel asked him to leave at that point. So Luke turned towards the door. Making sure her film wouldn't be exposed, Luke opened the door and left the dark room, leaving the studio, ignoring Kirk on the way. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the light.

Luke did check with Shelby when he picked her up, if she really had lashed out at her mom. Having lashed out towards him at one point, Luke couldn't deny Rachel was probably telling the truth. Once Shelby was in the truck, he asked if she did and assured her Shelby wouldn't be in trouble if she told the truth. After a moment's hesitance, she nodded, confirming it. Luke then gave his daughter a stern lecture that, that needed to stop. She couldn't keep lashing out at others, especially when they were trying to help and if it did continue, there would consequences for it.

A few days had gone by when Lorelai stopped by the diner, asking if the two of them could discuss something important.

"Yeah, sure," he agreed and told Caesar he was in charge for a moment before leading her in the back where he and Shelby had talked that day they made up. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

"Rachel invited me to lunch yesterday, to talk to me about a few concerns she needed to share with someone," she explained which caused Luke to sigh under his breath. "It actually wasn't that bad and it helped to see her side of things."

"So she told you what happened between her and Shelby, recently, and about Shelby giving her a hard time?"

"Rachel did mention about that, yes," Lorelai nodded in response as Luke folded his arms tightly across his chest. "Listen, I'm not saying I'm taking her side, but I do feel Rachel may have a point."

Luke suddenly stared at her in surprise. "What?"

"Hear me out, skippy. I did tell her the way she handled it could have gone another way, but I think we have been too soft on Shelby. You've taken things slow and that's good, but I think you might be letting Shelby get a little too comfortable where she is."

"You can't seriously be considering this?" he questioned in surprise.

"I don't know, honestly. Shelby has come so far since you first brought her here," Lorelai told him. "She's made great progress and you alone have done such a wonderful job with her."

"Yes, and she'll continue to make better progress," Luke tried to insist.

Lorelai hesitated.

"You don't think Shelby will continue to make progress." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Maybe she will, or maybe she won't."

Luke tilted his head back as he let out a tired sigh.

"Look, we've let Shelby warm up to us at a pace where she could get to know us," she continued. "Get to know you, her dad, whom she wanted to dress as for Halloween for some weird reason."

He looked at her at that. "Why is that weird?"

"Most kids want to dress up as superheroes, and princesses, and ghouls, and vampires. Usually not another person from real life," Lorelai pointed out.

"Well, Shelby's not like everybody else so yeah, it fits her personality."

"I'm not saying dressing like you is a bad thing, Luke. In fact, it shows how much you influence her life, which means you gotta be the one who helps her not be scared anymore. Not Rachel. Not me. Not Rory. Not the boys. _You_."

"And what do you think I've been trying to do. I have reminded Shelby about jumping in and doing it, even if she's scared. Shelby even started lasting an extra forty minutes. You can't tell me that's not progress, and as I told Rachel, I can't go back on my word and take the option of not letting her come home if she needs to, off the table."

"I'm not saying take the agreement you and Shelby made, off the table."

"Then what are you saying? Because it sounds like you are," he argued, trying his best not to raise his voice.

"Look, you're not the only one I'm lecturing. I explained to Rachel, she has to show Shelby she's willing to help ease the kid into staying, too. I suggested pulling a chair up and sitting outside her door until Shelby fell back to sleep. When she pointed out how tired she is in the middle of the night and just wants to go back to sleep, I reminded her, a baby's first year is full of sacrifices from the parents. I barely got any sleep the first year Rory was born and I relied on coffee more than I do now."

Luke flinched his head, staring at the woman in awe. More than she does now? How is that even possible? "How are you still alive?"

"Pure stubbornness," she answered before getting back on topic. "I explained to Rachel, how that basically still applies to Shelby. Because of Shelby's anxiety, the both of you don't have to miss out on the first year, it just got prolonged. That's what being a parent is all about, making those sacrifices for your kid, and if that means sitting outside her door until she falls asleep again then so be it, and you two need to work together on this. It may be about Shelby, but if there is no fifty/fifty from you, you two are gonna keep having these same issues."

"Well, what do you suggest when the two of us can't agree on anything?"

"Talk about it, come to some sort of compromise, and Luke, I know you have full custody, and control what happens to Shelby, but you have to let Rachel have some sort of structure, within reason," she quickly added that part, "while she's over at her mom's, otherwise Shelby's not gonna learn to respect her or possibly any other authority figure that would do or say something she doesn't like or want to do. I mean, you do want that, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, of course I do. I always tell Shelby to listen to her mom when she's with her, or to the boys' parents, or even to you."

"Well, Luke, that includes at bedtime, as well." Before Luke could speak up, Lorelai stopped him and continued. "What I mean is, don't be quick to give in. Encourage Shelby to stay. Tell her she's already got this in the bag, that she's a big, brave girl who can kick monster or the dark's butt. Ask her if that...that one kid from her favorite show...the one with the baseball cap...what's his name?" she stumbled on remembering the cartoon character Shelby liked.

"You mean Ash?"

Lorelai just stared at him. "It's sad and amazing you even know that," she told him, monotone.

"When you watch something on an almost daily basis and listen to having something talked about a lot, you tend to get very familiar with a certain topic."

"Anyway, cartoon knowledge aside, ask her if... _Ash_ would give up when things got scary or if a _Pokemon_ would give up if a battle got tough," she continued, "and you know, I've come to notice something about Shelby that might even help."

Luke was now holding his hands on his sides. "What?"

"How much she's motivated with praise and rewards."

"You want us to reward her for sleeping the full night at her mom's. The satisfaction of doing it isn't enough?"

"With a kid with low self-esteem? Yes." she replied. "I mean, it's usually used while the kid is being potty-trained, but why not the three of you sit down and come up with a system. Make a sticker chart. If she makes it through the night, she gets a sticker or gold star. Eventually, double it. If Shelby manages to stay both Friday and Saturday night, reward her two stickers. To keep the 'coming home' an option, tell her if she decides she needs to come home, take away a sticker. Teach her there are always consequences to life, whether good or bad. Shelby won't be in trouble, make sure she understands that, but don't encourage it either. Let her know Shelby can always come home if she needs to, but teach her it won't help her to be able to move forward if she continues doing it."

Luke was staring at the floor, letting the words sink in as he listened. He hated it but Lorelai may have been right. He heard her voice soften.

"I know this is the hard part of being a parent. I think it's time for a little tough love, and you know what, Shelby will probably react negatively to this. But one day, she's gonna look back and thank you for pushing her out of the nest. Plus, letting Rachel take over will give you a break where you won't have to worry if Shelby's been fed, or has gotten ready for bed, or if her homework needs checking. If you want to give Rachel a chance, then you gotta give her that chance. Her home should be a home away from home where Shelby feels safe enough to live there, too, not just here. Do you understand I'm saying?"

"Yeah," he let out a breath of air. "Yeah, I get it." Lorelai was right. They did let Shelby get a little more comfortable than she needs to be. Even though it wasn't easy for him, Luke needed to use a little tough love if Shelby was going to be able to sleep on her own and give her that nudge she desperately needed. In fact, he even ran it by Madison, just to be sure. After all, she was the one to suggest taking things slow. Madison agreed one hundred percent and liked the idea of using a sticker chart and gave him some suggestions on how to make it and even some rewards he could use. Nothing he would give on her birthday or Christmas, but toys or books you'd find at the dollar store or in the dollar aisle at Wal-mart, or going to the movies, or some kind of weekend activity Shelby would enjoy. So, that being said, Luke went back to apologize to Rachel. Not an easy task, admitting he was wrong. Had to be done, though.

Rachel was preparing for a client's photo shoot appointment when Luke stopped by. Of course, she had a hard time giving him eye contact, still a bit upset with him from their last meeting.

"Rachel, I, uh, wanted to...um...apologize. I still don't agree with how you handled things that night and I still think you should have called me…" He took a deep breath in, letting it out through his nose. "Even after everything we've been through, you're still Shelby's mother, and I should be letting you have just as much input in the decisions of how she's raised, too, regardless who has legal custody of her."

Rachel had been keeping busy by making sure her camera was all set up. She stopped to look up at him. "So does this mean we can stop letting her go home in the middle of the night and let me handle when she wakes up?"

"No, that'll always be on the table, Rachel." He heard her sigh under her breath and looked through the len of her camera as if she was going to take a shot. "You and I can sit down and come up with a compromise, though. Lorelai told you about the reward chart idea, right?"

"She did, actually," she admitted. "But I also told her I don't think we should continue on letting Shelby leave in the middle of the night. I am willing to make sacrifices as she mentioned is a part of raising a child, but letting Shelby quit, regardless if there is a consequence," Rachel shrugged over at him, shaking her head.

"We have to find some kind of compromise, Rachel. If at the end of the month, if she lost a certain amount of stickers, we can take away her video games and that could be included in rewarding her, by having her earn them back," he suggested. "Lorelai's right, ever since I started having Shelby work in the diner and earn her allowance, she's shown me she has an excellent work ethic. Shelby loves working for money to buy new video games, and if Shelby's motivated by praise and rewards, then who's to say we shouldn't work with that?"

Holding one hand on her camera and the other on her side, Rachel stared over at him, in thought. Finally, she accepted. "Okay, if you think this'll work, we'll give it a try. I have my break in an hour, we can discuss things then if you want, and I can go buy supplies so we can make a sticker chart."

"Woah," Luke held up a hand. "Let's wait until we shared this with Shelby, maybe let her decide what kind of stickers to use, and the kind of rewards to give her. If we work towards something Shelby would like or want, it'll make things easier for her to stay on track."

"Good point. I'll see you in an hour then."

"Okay." Luke smiled in satisfaction that it turned out well.

They met during Rachel's break and discussed what Lorelai had suggested of the two. Possibly if Rachel did put in more effort, making sacrifices, maybe Shelby would see that and finally see her mom was willing to do anything she needed to do, just like Luke was doing. During the phone call to Madison, she did point out how kids were able to adapt to anything that was thrown at them, whether good or bad. That was what helped Luke go through with this, hoping Shelby would be willing. In fact, he knew she could. After everything that has been thrown at the kid and how much she reminded him of himself as a kid around her age, Shelby was capable, it just meant they had to raise her confidence in herself. Of course, that was also something Luke struggled with, as well. Sure he could easily raise his daughter's confidence, but raising his own? That wasn't any easier and even though he loved and felt proud Shelby looked up to him as her hero, including sharing certain traits, Luke didn't want her having every trait of his.

By the time her break was over, both Luke and Rachel had discussed different possibilities to suggest to Shelby when they sit down with her. It actually went better than Luke thought it would and let Rachel make suggestions that he thought could work. Now it was time for the hard part: getting Shelby to agree. Considering she was still upset with her mom, Luke was almost positive Shelby will react negatively just as Lorelai predicted she might.

At the end of the school day, Luke picked her up. It took all he could muster to tell her, Rachel was coming by so the three could sit down and talk things out. Shelby tried refusing, but Luke tried his best to stick with this.

Rachel came by the diner while Luke was working and took her upstairs where Shelby was in the middle of a game of Poker with Jess.

"Jess, can you excuse us for a minute?" he asked of him.

Ignoring Rachel as if she wasn't in the room, Jess said, "Sure." He and Shelby picked up his playing cards. "You're down to owing me ten bucks, Scout."

Shelby nodded.

Once the cards were back in their box, Jess stood up to leave.

"Jess, are you having Shelby play for money?" Luke questioned.

He shrugged. "Sure, why not? We started with gummy bears until she got the hang of the game."

Luke couldn't believe his nephew sometimes. "Jess, you can't make your cousin play for money." Of course, he hated having to have this conversation in front of Rachel.

"Hey, the kid originally owed me a hundred and twenty until we played a few more games."

It took a moment to let that sink in. "That doesn't matter, Jess. The point is…." Jess had been standing there, waiting for it to sink in, unmoved. When it finally did, Luke was flabbergasted. "Shelby won a hundred and ten dollars playing you at Poker?"

"Yep. Didn't even need to go easy on her," he said. "'Course, it took her a while to learn, hence why she owed a hundred and twenty, but…" Jess shrugged. "Should consider sneaking that kid into Vegas, sometime." That said, the boy walked away, grabbing his jacket on the way out.

"Can you believe that?" Rachel said, shaking her head.

With the surprise blown over, Luke turned to his daughter, leaning over to kiss the side of her head. "Proud of you, kiddo," he praised her. Knowing Shelby can win that much cash beating her seventeen-year-old cousin at Poker, Luke knew one hundred percent sure Shelby could definitely overcome her fear of sleeping alone. Though, he noticed Rachel still shaking her head, out of the corner of his eye. "Ready for our talk, Shell?" getting down to business.

Shelby shook her head.

Leaning his folded arms on the table to be more at her level, he reminded Shelby, "Remember what we talked about on the way home? We have to come up with a solution so we won't repeat what happened that night at your mom's and so you can be able to face your fear."

But Shelby continued to shake her head, stubbornly.

Moving to Shelby's other side, Rachel kneeled beside her chair. "I didn't enjoy having to do that to you, Peanut. Even though it didn't actually hurt when you hit me, it still hurt in my heart." She touched a hand to her chest.

Shelby turned in her seat so her back was facing her mom.

"Shelby, that was rude. Your mom is talking to you," Luke told her, firmly, but gently. "Can you not turn away while we're talking? Lorelai shared some more ideas we think might help you." Maybe letting the kid know Lorelai was also involved would help her be open to the sticker chart if Shelby thought that highly of the woman.

Shelby wrapped her arms around her, hugging herself as her chest started to heave. Tears were filling up in her eyes.

"We're only trying to help, Peanut," Rachel told her. "I know you think of your dad's as your home, but wouldn't it be nice if mine could be a home away from home?"

"Your mom has more time off from work than I do and would like to spend that time with you, and you could even spend school nights over there since your mom lives closer to the school," Luke explained to her. "We know how hard you work downstairs with me, so Lorelai suggested making a sticker chart…" With tears pouring from both eyes, Shelby slid off of her chair and tried to make her way over towards her bed. Luke held a hand out, wrapping it around her front to block her path. "Can you please hear us out, kiddo?"

She pushed against his hand, trying to break pass it. Since he wasn't actually holding onto her, Shelby moved away from his reach and continued walking over to her bed where she grabbed Pikachu and Maggie. Clutching both stuffed animals to her chest, Shelby crawled underneath, pushing Jess' bed out of the way, enough she could fit.

Once she was out of sight and he saw a corner of the extra bed move out from under hers a little, Luke turned his head to look over at Rachel, who had stood up. The parents exchanged a look between each other before Luke dropped his head, limp. Luke closed his eyes, knowing what he had to do, now leaning his hands on the table.

Taking a long, deep breath and letting it out, Luke stared at the table, mustering all he could to get the right words out. "You don't have to talk to us, right now if you don't want to, kiddo. You can come to us whenever you're ready. But in the meantime, there'll be no TV and no video games until then." A lump shot up into his throat and Luke found it hard to swallow. He managed after a few attempts.

The room was quiet while they waited to see if Shelby would come out. Five minutes went by before Luke realized he had to follow through. Pushing himself up, it nearly killed him as he made his way over to the TV, kneeling in front of it and began unplugging the Nintendo 64 from both the wall and the back of the TV. Luke wrapped the cords around the console, unplugging the controllers in the process to make it easier. He then wrapped the controllers in their own cords, setting them on top of the console so he could carry it over to the closet, setting the console on the top shelf.

Luke looked back at his daughter's bed to see she still hadn't come out.

"Until you're ready and we've discussed what needs to be said, the Nintendo stays in the closet, kiddo." Another lump came up forcing him to swallow once more. Nothing. No movement whatsoever. "I'm sorry we have to handle things this way, Shell. Your mom and I are only doing this because we love you." He had to inhale, blowing it back out, under his breath, trying to stay tough and not cave. Every fiber in his being wanted to quit and stick to the original plan he had told her, a week ago. In order to help Shelby, he knew he couldn't. Holding his hands on his sides, Luke stared at the floor, waiting. Hoping, honestly.

Another five minutes went by before he and Rachel left Shelby alone, shutting the door behind them as Luke reminded her to let him know whenever she was ready, again. Out in the hall, Rachel turned to face him, crossing her arms, lightly as she glanced at her feet.

"I know it's hard, Luke, but this is exactly where we were when we explained about our break-up, and Shelby ended up being just fine then," she reminded him.

"Please," he held a hand up to her. "Just go. I'll call you when Shelby's ready."

Rachel looked at him, sideways. "You won't back out and cave after I'm gone, right?"

"I said, leave, Rachel," he told her, firmly, but managed not to raise his voice.

Without another word, Rachel turned and headed down the stairs.

Luke turned and dropped back against the wall, holding his hands on his sides again. He glanced up at the ceiling, immediately dropping it while closing his eyes. It took the strength of Hercules not to go back in there and give Shelby back her Nintendo 64. Luke wasn't a praying man, nor was he really sure if there really was a God or not. Still, he couldn't help catch himself praying under his breath.

"Let this work. _Please_ let this work."


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Shelby remained under the bed until Luke came back upstairs that night. Thankfully, Jess had gotten her to eat a sandwich when he made himself one which Luke thanked him for. It was amazing how much the kid had somehow wormed her way into Jess' heart and made him care for someone. 'Course, it was hard not to fall in love with this kid. Anyone who came through the diner always complimented Shelby to Luke, and whenever Shelby wasn't there, they'd ask where the adorable, little server was. That day had been no different.

He tried to ask Shelby if she could take her bath but Shelby refused. Luke ended up giving in for now and decided to shower first, changing into his green, long sleeved shirt and sweats he normally wore to bed. Once dressed, he filled the tub and got Shelby's bath ready. Letting the water fill the tub, Luke stepped out into the main room.

"Come on, Shell. You gotta get ready for bed," he called over to her and waited to see if she moved. She didn't. Luke let out a tired sigh under his breath before he turned his head towards Jess. It was worth a shot. He wasn't having any luck. "Jess, can you give me a hand?"

Jess put his book down long enough to applaud his uncle.

"You know that's not what I mean," Luke told him with a look of annoyance. "I mean, help me with Shelby."

The boy shrugged, not looking up from his book. "Should have specified. Scout, go bathe before you stink up the joint."

Luke just rolled his eyes. But it did get Shelby out from under the bed, who made her way around. On the way to the bathroom, she dropped something into the trashcan which he asked her about. Shelby showed him her left hand where it was a little bruised on top.

"What happened, kiddo?"

"Jess," was all she managed to get out.

"Jess did it?" he asked.

Shelby nodded.

"How?"

Shelby didn't say more. Jess spoke up at least.

"I didn't know she was under there when I came up and ran her hand over with the bed. I gave her ice for it."

Luke thanked his nephew and turned back to his daughter. "How does it feel now? Does it still hurt?" His initial thought was to take her to see the town's doctor to make sure nothing was broken.

Shelby shook her head.

Making sure, Luke felt her hand, pressing on it in some areas and asked her to move her fingers. It hurt a smidge but figured all Jess did was bruise the tendons. He did tell her to come let him know if it got any worse and he'll take her to let a doctor look at it.

That said, Shelby removed the clothes she had been wearing that day and stepped into the tub. Luke poured some shampoo into the palm of her hands, reminding her to really scrub down to the scalp.

While Shelby scrubbed her own body, Luke tried talking to her. The kid hardly made eye contact with him.

"You know I wasn't doing that to be mean, earlier when your mom was here. Right, kiddo?"

Shelby stared at nothing while rubbing the washcloth along her chest.

Luke was sitting on the toilet lid, leaning forward on his knees, supervising. "I hate having to do this, we all do. We just want to help you." Throughout the whole bath, Shelby remained mute, staring everywhere but at him as Luke explained to her his reasoning for doing this. Eventually, Luke took the washcloth, kneeling to his knees, to get her back since she couldn't reach back there yet.

Afterwards, Luke helped towel dry her hair while he let Shelby dry the rest of her body so he could go grab her pajamas, letting her get dressed and brush her teeth.

That's how it was over the next week. He was relieved to see Shelby never went back to her t-ball hat and continued to wear the one he had given her so Luke knew she wasn't mad at him. Shelby was mad though, he got that impression when he came up at some point and saw a murder had taken place and Barbie was the victim.

"Aw, jeez," he muttered to himself, now understanding what the comedian, Bill Engvall meant about a serial killer in training in regards to his own kid. Scary part was, Shelby was the kindest, sweetest person he knew. Kneeling beside the coffee table, Luke picked Barbie up, noticing that her arm was missing, half of her hair was gone, and her face was smashed in and colored over with what seemed like a red crayon. "Shell, what happened to Barbie here?" Did he really want to know the answer to that question?

Shelby was having Totodile destroy some houses she had built out of Legos, sending some pieces flying off the table, ignoring her dad.

"Shelby, can you answer me, please?" Luke pressed on, firmly, but remained gentle and patient, not wanting to make things worse. Shelby stopped what she was doing at least but didn't say anything, much less look up. Not wanting to force her if she didn't want to talk at the moment, he told her to pick up the Lego pieces that had been thrown on the floor.

Luke asked Jess if Shelby was talking to him about what was bothering her at least but not even he was getting a word out of her. While doing a repair on Lorelai's porch, he ran it passed her on what he should do.

"Seems like the kid's got some major anger issues building up inside her which isn't good," she gathered from all he shared with her. Even Lorelai looked creeped out upon hearing what happened to Barbie.

"I'm stumped on what to do. Shelby won't talk to me at all and it's eating me from the inside out. She won't give her mother the time of day and she only interacts with me when I ask her to do something, and even then, I have to ask Jess to help me, half the time. I try encouraging her, asking her. She lets me hug her at least but she won't hug me back."

"We'll fix this. Don't worry your pretty, little head there." Telling him to alert Rachel, they met back at his apartment where Lorelai reorganized the chairs around his kitchen table with two on each side. Lorelai also placed Totodile in the center and had Shelby sit with her. Luke and Rachel sat on the other side, surprised the woman had gotten the kid to join them. She didn't look anywhere near as happy, though.

"First," she began, "these are the rules." Lorelai reached over and picked up the toy, "whoever has this little guy here may speak. Everyone else must remain silent unless given permission from whomever has him. No exceptions. The holder is allowed to deny your right to speak if that is how she or he feels," Lorelai made sure to include Luke. "Anything can be said without any penalties. Everyone got that?"

Luke and Rachel agreed.

Lorelai turned to Shelby, who was the only one who hadn't responded. "That okay with you, sweetheart?"

Shelby just shrugged one shoulder, staring underneath the table. Her hat was turned around so no one could see her face.

Back to the whole table, Lorelai continued. "We're gonna start things off by going around and sharing how we feel at this moment. I'll start. I feel happy we can be here for Shelby, to help her feel better and get some things off her chest." She passed the toy across the table, setting it in front of Luke.

"Uh, well…"

Lorelai motioned for him to pick up the toy.

Snatching the toy up, Luke paused for a moment, trying to ponder how he was feeling at that moment. "Well, I guess I feel sad that my little buddy's upset and I can't do anything about it," he shrugged and passed the toy over to Rachel.

Taking the toy, Rachel said, "Honestly, I feel hurt and confused. Like a bad guy just because I did something Shelby didn't like." Leaning forward, she tried to pass the toy across the table, over to her daughter. "Here, Peanut."

Lorelai took it for her and held it closer for Shelby to take. "How do you feel, sweetheart? Say whatever is on your mind. No one else here can say anything unless you say it's okay. Just be honest."

Shelby shrugged, staring at her lap.

"Are you mad? Sad? Hurt?"

Lifting her head, Shelby whispered in Lorelai's ear.

Luke moved his folded hands from his lap to the table, feeling a little anxious but relieved Shelby was speaking to someone.

"You feel a lot of feelings?" Lorelai repeated which Shelby nodded her head. She smiled for her. "That's okay. Can we help you feel better?"

Another shrug.

Speaking to the whole group, Lorelai continued. "Why don't we show Shelby some love by sharing something positive we like about her," she suggested.

"All right, I have to say something," Luke spoke up, feeling weirded out by this point. He never understood therapy and always thought it was a waste of time. Someone lays on a couch and tells their problems to some stranger with a clipboard for large sums of money that may or may not work. Luke could go on for five minutes in a rant.

"You're not holding Totodile, nor did you ask permission," she pointed out.

He sighed under his breath, annoyed and raised his hand halfway. A part of him just died inside, feeling like a kid back in grade school again.

Lorelai passed Totodile to him, letting him speak. "This feels like a therapy session which by the way I always thought that stuff was a load of crap," he pointed out.

"Unless you want this place to be a crime scene again, I suggest you quit whining and zip the lip," she told him before asking for the toy, back. Luke gave her one of his annoyed stares as he handed back the toy. "Now, where were we? Oh, that's right. Talking about Shelby," Lorelai smiled. "Shelby, I like that you're not a grouch like your dad can be, sometimes. You always have a cheerful smile that can light up a room." Part of that answer was supposed to poke fun at Luke besides compliment Shelby.

Upon hearing that, Shelby stole a look up at the woman who smiled for her.

"What about you?" Lorelai passed the kid, her toy. "What do you like about yourself?"

Shelby shrugged.

"Come on, there's gotta be something you like about yourself."

She had taken Totodile and was staring at it. Finally, Shelby held it up towards Lorelai.

"Yeah, that means only you can speak at the moment unless you say it's okay for someone else to speak."

Shelby shook her head and sat up to whisper something in her ear.

"Oh, you like that you're a good _Pokemon_ trainer. I see," Lorelai nodded in understanding, now that Shelby told her. "That's a good one. Okay, can you pass Totodile to your mom so she can take a turn?"

Shaking her head, Shelby stood up and stretched the toy across the table, diagonally towards her dad. Luke motioned to let Rachel take it first since they had been going in a circle, but when Rachel tried to take it from their daughter, Shelby moved it out of her mom's reach. Keeping the rule that whoever had Totodile could decide who got to speak, Lorelai had Luke take it and take his turn next.

Smiling, proudly, Luke said, "I like, no love, that I have such an amazing kid who makes me proud every single day, and have an assistant around to help me do things."

Glancing up a little, he caught a slight smile coming from underneath her hat. With Luke in charge of Totodile, he passed him over to Rachel so she could finally take her turn. That was when Shelby slid around on her seat, facing Lorelai, hugging herself.

"One thing I like about Shelby is how creative she can be at making up stories about anything she can think of, or from looking at a photo I took, like the donkey who lived at the Grand Canyon, and made friends with the roadrunner. Remember that, peanut? I still have it on the fridge at home," Rachel tilted her head slightly to the side to try and see under her hat. Shelby didn't even look up.

In fact, for the next twenty minutes, Shelby remained in that spot. Luke protectively kept an eye on her the whole time and couldn't help notice how upset she seemed to be getting. His heart broke as Shelby squeezed herself tighter with each passing minute. Lorelai tried her best to help ease the kid's anxiety and tried to ask questions to help her open up about what was bothering her. Usually she was the best at getting the kid, to calm down, but not this time. The more Shelby squeezed herself, the tighter his chest felt and Luke found it difficult to just sit there and say nothing.

Finally, Luke couldn't stand it anymore. "Okay, that's enough," he stated. "Lorelai, Rachel, can you excuse us? I think this may have been a bad idea. Maybe Shelby and I should talk things through first."

"But I thought you tried that already. She won't even talk to you," Lorelai reminded him.

"Just trust me on this." After watching this play out, Luke was starting to see where they were going about this all wrong and needed to get the two of them alone. So he insisted the women leave so father and daughter could be alone.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Luke made his way over to kneel beside Shelby's chair, holding a hand on the edge. Not wanting to make her look at him, he just said was he felt.

"Shell, I'm sorry all of this has happened. I wish I could snap my fingers and make everything okay again." He gave her a mournful expression. "Unfortunately, I can't, and I can't turn back time either. I know how much you love your mom and that's why I was trying so hard to help mend things between the two of you. I guess I wasn't thinking and I'm sorry. You have every right to be angry at your mom. Heck, I'm mad at what she did. And I understand if you're mad at me, too. I was a dummy."

To his surprise, Shelby slowly twisted in her chair, lifting her head so he could see her face. "I'm no mad at you," she shook her head. "Only sad a' you."

Luke forced a smile for her and reached out to touch her arm. "For going back on what I said before, huh?"

Shelby nodded.

"Do you understand why though?" he asked, slightly tilting his head.

She shrugged and repeated what he had just said a minute ago. "Because you were trying to help Mom and me?"

"Yeah, that's right. But maybe the two of us should have talked things through before letting your mom join us. Would you have been willing to hear me out if I had done that instead?"

Pausing at first as if to think on it, eventually, Shelby nodded.

Luke gave her arm he was holding, a rough but gentle rub. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, thankful she allowed him to do so. "Do you forgive me?" he asked afterwards.

Shelby nodded.

"Hey," Luke added, softly. "Just a head's up," he leaned in, a little closer, "I'm probably gonna make more dumb mistakes as you grow up. I'll try my best not to, but I am only human." He nodded once towards her, "that okay?"

Shelby nodded once more.

"Just...please tell me when I do and I don't catch it. I don't want to go another day where you feel you're not being heard, okay?"

This time, Shelby said, "Okay," with her nod, turning fully around on her chair. She picked her socked feet up, folding her legs up against her, slouching in her seat.

"You know, though, your mom did give me an idea what might help fix things between you. Want to hear it?"

Looking at him with a puzzled but curious look, she asked, "What?"

"Why don't you write your mom a story about how you feel? It doesn't even have to be about you. You can write about someone who has the same feelings, and you can give it to her afterwards. Maybe if your mom knows how you feel, it might make her see things our way."

She pondered on that for a moment before responding, "Um...okay."

His face lit up with hopeful glee when Shelby agreed to his suggestion. To make her smile, he said, "Hey, want to know something funny?"

"What?"

"Your mom actually got lectured, by Lorelai, too."

Shelby's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yep," which Luke added, "Well, she gave me one, too."

A smile appeared, forming into a smirk and Shelby giggled, making her dad let out a chuckle or two, as well. "Lor-lai is awesome."

"Yes, yes she is." Luke leaned over and gave her another kiss. "Feel a little better?"

She nodded.

"Tell ya what. If you write that story, maybe I'll let you play your Nintendo, tonight before bed. Deal?"

Her face lit up with excitement, shifting upward against the back of the chair and nodded. Shelby then threw herself off from the chair, onto her dad, wrapping her arms, tight around his neck as he muttered, "Aw, jeez," out loud, caught off guard. But Luke held her tight, glad he could make his little girl feel better while coming up with a solution for their rough situation.

So Shelby immediately got to work, writing a story for her mom. Luke let her work in peace, working downstairs as well. Sometime later, Shelby came down, leaning around the corner. She waited until he noticed her.

"Hey, Shell. Finish your story?" He came over and kneeled to her level. Shelby held it out to him. Asking if he could read it, first, Luke took the paper from her and quickly read through it, smiling at some parts. Most of it was heartbreaking, but glad there were a part or two that made him smile.

"Can Mom and Lor-lai come back to finish our mee-ting?" she whispered for only him to hear.

Luke looked at his daughter, impressed. "You liked that?"

Shelby nodded. "I like using Totodile."

It occurred to him why Shelby must have liked it. "You like feeling in control, huh?"

She nodded some more.

"Okay, I'll let your mom and Lorelai know. I don't know when it'll be. It'll have to be when we all can get away from work. Okay?"

She nodded a third time.

Luke pulled her in for a hug. "Proud of you, kiddo, I really am," he made sure to emphasize his praise towards her and kissed the top of her ear. When Luke let go, he told her, "you know, some of our guests have been asking for ya? Are you up to working an hour or two?"

"I'm hungry. Can I ea' firs'?"

"Of course you can, kiddo. What would you like?"

"Um," Shelby paused, looking up towards the ceiling, pondering. "Can I have a cheese sandwich and tomato soup?"

"Coming right up." Luke had her go take a stool while he headed into the kitchen. Suddenly, he paused in mid step as it hit him. Did Shelby just use a contraction? Come to think of it, did she use one earlier during their talk, upstairs? He couldn't help feel more pride rise up inside of him as realization sunk in, making him smile to himself. She sure was coming a long way since almost a year ago.

The four of them were able to meet Sunday afternoon. Shelby had arranged the chairs the way Lorelai had them, with everyone taking their same seats. Rachel was also relieved to hear Shelby wanted to continue, especially. The adults let Shelby go first, who held Totodile in her hands. Lorelai reminded the group of the rules before letting Shelby go.

Shelby fidgeted with the toy in her hands as she stared at her story lying in front of her, on the table. Lorelai reached over to rub her back, assuring she had this. She stole a look over at her dad who gave her a thumb's up.

"You're okay, Shell. Just pretend we're the only ones in the room, if that helps," he encouraged his little girl.

Wiping at her eye, Shelby tried to begin, stumbling a bit on her words and stopped.

"You're doing good, sweetheart," Lorelai assured her some more.

Stealing another look over at her dad, Shelby was able to gain a boost of confidence and started reading again.

"Tear was a ow' named Ruffie." Luke mouthed to the women she meant owl as Shelby continued. "Ruffie's mom and dad lived in two diff-ent homes. Ruffie loved her mom and dad even when t'ey make a mis-cake. Ta mom ow' makes a lot. Sometime i' makes Ruffie hur' inside and…" Shelby had to pause to take a deep breath which Lorelai continued to rub her back.

Luke stole a look over at Rachel from the corner of his eye to see her sitting there, holding her hands in her lap, staring at them as Shelby continued.

"The daddy ow' makes mis-cakes too, but always told Ruffie he was sorry and always made her feel be'ter. He had a friend too. Her name was Co'ton the rabbit. She had a baby rabbit too. Her name was Carro'. Co'ton and Carro' eat a lo' of carro's." Luke mouthed to inform them she meant to say carrot. "Ta daddy ow' says t'ey had a problem."

All three adults couldn't help laugh at that part, knowing what the kid meant.

"Ruffie loves Co'ten and Carro' a lot. Ruffie sometimes wish Co'ten was her mom in'tead." The room got awkwardly quiet as things turned heartbreakingly serious. Shelby sniffed in before continuing holding the side of her forehead in the palm of her hand now. "Ruffie wishes her mom could be like Co'ton. Ruffie can see her mom ge's mad, sometimes. Ruffie tries not to make her mom mad bu' her mom sometimes make Ruffie and her dad mad firs'. I's ge's hard to forgive her mom, over and over again. Ruffie no wan' her mom to go away. She jus' wan's her mom to 'top making Ruffie hur' a lo' inside." Shelby stopped reading, done with her story and stared at Totodile.

"That was a great story, sweetheart," Lorelai told her. "I liked the part about Carrot and Cotton, and their carrot addiction."

Shelby forced a smile up at the woman.

"It's even better the second time," Luke added, leaning forward on his arms.

The only other one that was silent was Rachel.

Luke looked over at her.

She asked for Shelby's permission to speak before Rachel said, "I don't know what to say, peanut. That sounds like a very sad story."

Shelby leaned over, wanting to whisper something to Lorelai, who passed it on. "Shelby says her dad told her to write a story for you."

"So that story was for me?" she asked.

Shelby nodded at her, trying to make eye contact with her mom but not succeeding.

Rachel leaned forward on her arms. "Peanut, is Ruffie you?"

She nodded at Totodile, fidgeting with the toy again.

Glancing at the table between them, Rachel asked, "Can I move closer to you, Peanut?"

Shelby shrugged one shoulder.

"It's up to you. I won't if you don't want me to."

That time, she nodded.

So Rachel pushed her chair back and went over to kneel beside her daughter. "I don't do things to hurt you, on purpose, Peanut. The way you treat me hurts me, too, you know. Remember when you hit me? I told you that really hurt me inside."

Shelby chewed on her lip as she continued to look at Totodile. After a minute, she leaned over to whisper to Lorelai.

"She says you wouldn't let her go home like her dad said she could," Lorelai relayed the message.

"Okay, yes, I'll admit I shouldn't have done that. But Peanut, you were just fine those other nights you stayed with me. There was no reason you couldn't stay."

A tear escaped from her eye, drifting down her right cheek.

Rachel held an arm on the edge of the table. "I did that because I knew you would be. You don't need to go home anymore. You've proved to yourself, along with your dad and me, you can sleep by yourself in your own room. Yes, it can still be scary, but I'm right down the hall. You can always call me whenever you need me."

Shelby shook her head, not lifting it.

"What, Peanut? Why do you think you can't always call me? You called me that one time when your dad had upset you."

Shelby chewed on her lip some more.

Lorelai offered her ear so she can pass it on to her mom. Shelby still hesitated before she finally shared with her. The look Lorelai gave when Shelby told her, looked like it wasn't good. "She says…" she gave Rachel a heartbreaking look, "because you weren't there for her before and a voice inside her head sometimes tells her you might not be there again."

Luke swallowed knowing what their daughter meant.

Rachel, clueless, asked what she meant and Shelby confirmed his suspicions through Lorelai. Her eyes closed upon hearing it. Lifting her head, Rachel reminded her, "I'm here now, Peanut. I promise I'll always be here for you from now on. I haven't left yet, right? I've always come back, and I stopped going on trips so I wouldn't miss anything else."

With another hesitation, she whispered to Lorelai some more.

Lorelai dropped her face in her hand.

"What is it?" Luke couldn't help ask, forgetting the rule.

"She once overheard Miss Patty tell someone she thinks you'll still leave again because you always do. Apparently, not even the town is convinced yet."

That was news to Luke. He had no idea that piece of gossip was floating around, even after Rachel started a business in town. Course, he also never really tried to keep up with the latest town gossip.

"Shelby, look at me," Rachel told her, firmly, trying to to hold some gentleness in it like Luke does. "Look at me, Shelby." Shelby tried to make eye contact with her mom. "You are the only person in this town that could ever make me stay here, I can promise you that. I know I wasn't there for you in the beginning and I'll say this again and again, I won't ever do that again. You have to understand that. In fact, I don't care what the town thinks. As long as you trust me, that's all that matters."

Lorelai spoke up. "It takes time, Rachel. Being a mother is all about having a ton of patience along with the sacrifices we make for them. You can't expect Shelby to get that just like that. Even if it takes her years, you have to accept that and show her you're willing to stay in her life."

Rachel looked from Lorelai to the floor.

"You can't force Shelby to feel how you want her to feel or do what you want her to do," she continued. "Yes, there are choices you will have to make for her that Shelby won't like. I've had to make choices my kid didn't like, either."

"That's what I did, but apparently that makes me the bad guy," she shrugged.

"Because it went against what Luke and Shelby already agreed on. You can't make decisions like that without first consulting her dad. Like it or not, Luke is in charge. That's the bottom line. Yes, he can ask for your opinion and Shelby should listen to you while she's with you, but when the two has an agreement, you have to follow it. I told you all this during lunch, you have to help Shelby _want to_ stay, not decide for her. Let her call her dad, he can comfort her, and the two of you can encourage her, together. Sit with her, or sit outside, like I said. Show her you're willing to help her. Right, sweetheart?" Lorelai looked down at Shelby, who nodded towards Totodile.

Rachel looked at her, as well. "If I sat with you or outside your door, would you be willing to stay the whole night, Peanut?"

Shelby nodded her head.

"Okay, I'll try to be better at helping you with your night terrors, how's that?"

Shelby finally lifted her head to look up at her mom, continuing to nod.

"Does that mean you'll come back to stay with me?"

This time, Shelby stole a look from her dad, who gave her an encouraging smile, before turning back to her mom. She nodded, yes, causing Rachel to smile upon seeing their daughter was willing to keep trying. Rachel choked out a small happy sob when Shelby slid off of her chair and wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm gonna try to be a better mom, Peanut, I promise." Shelby tightened her grip on her mom upon hearing Rachel's promise. Their mother-daughter hug lasted for a minute or so before Shelby pushed away. "Maybe you can help me be a good mom, how does that sound?"

Shelby nodded, smiling at that. She turned around, leaning her hands on the table and her chair, to whisper something to Lorelai. It seemed like even though they made up, Shelby still couldn't find her voice just yet. At least around her mom. Luke hoped that would change once Rachel proved herself.

Lorelai smiled when Shelby whispered to her. "She says she'll be praying for you," she recited to Rachel.

Rachel smiled in return. "That sounds good, Peanut. Hey," she quickly added, "what if we prayed together? Maybe that could be part of our bedtime routine when you stay over. What do you think?"

Shelby's face lit up as if Santa Claus had come early or something, and blurted out, "Daddy no even do ta' wi' me." All three adults smiled at that, especially when she closed into herself, her cheeks blushing red.

Rachel took ahold of her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Whatever helps my little peanut, I'm willing to do it."

Another huge smile appeared on the little girl's face. Suddenly, Shelby bolted around the table and jumped onto her dad's lap, throwing her arms around him.

"Tank you, Daddy," she whispered to him from his shoulder.

"For what, kiddo?" he asked, holding his arms around her waist.

Shelby lifted her head to whisper some more. "You said to make Mom a 'tory. You so 'mar'," she told him, proudly.

"Well, I did have help," Luke motioned his head in the direction of Lorelai and Rachel, being humble. That said, Shelby slid down from his lap and dashed over to grab onto Lorelai, whispering thanks to her which she responded she was so welcome.

"Are you feeling better?"

Shelby nodded at the woman.

Lorelai smiled. "That's good to hear. No more need to torture Barbie, right?"

Smirking, she shook her head.

Last but not least, Shelby dashed back to Rachel, hugging her once again, to thank her.

"Oh, you are very welcome, Peanut. I just hope we can move pass all of this." Rachel squeezed her tight in her arms.

Eventually, Luke spoke up. "So, Shell. Mind if we talk about this sticker chart idea Lorelai had in mind to help you be able to stay over at your mom's?"

Shelby let go and turned to nod towards her dad.

"Something came to mind about that," Rachel pointed out.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Once you place a sticker to anything other than the paper it came on, you can't really peel it off again. I asked my sister, though and she suggested making your own, using those peelable velco things. That way you can remove and reattach them however you need to."

"That's a good idea," agreed Lorelai. "That way, too, you won't be limited to whatever the store has and it can be anything Shelby wants them to be. Probably even could print out pictures off the computer, if you want."

Rachel had stood up when they had changed the subject, leaning against the table with her arms folded, lightly. "What kind of stickers should we make, Peanut?" she asked Shelby.

Shelby leaned against the table as well and reached over to grab Totodile, holding him up in the air.

"Of course," all three adults replied in union, having should have known better than to ask.

Luke especially had already figured _Pokemon_ would be chosen as the main subject and had already thought of an idea. He thought about what Shelby has told him about the cartoon and video game, figuring out how to incorporate it in with her reward chart.

Finally, while all three girls were discussing other ideas, he interrupted. "I actually have an idea that would be perfect for Shelby."

"Well, let's hear it," Lorelai told him.

"In the game, you have to travel from these different towns and cities, visiting these gyms to battle their gym leaders," he explained, "and if you win, you earn a badge. You have to collect eight of them to be able to take on the big guys of the game, right, Shelby?" Luke confirmed it with her which Shelby nodded. "What if every time Shelby stays one night with you," he asked, meaning Rachel, "she earns a badge, and once she earns all eight, she can earn a reward of some sort."

"Like a video game?" Shelby blurted out and turned red again.

"No, kiddo. We already have an agreement about new video games, remember?" he reminded her.

Shelby nodded, looking bummed out, her face and shoulders drooped.

"Actually, I think you have enough money in your savings to go pick out another game, unless you want to wait for Christmas, that's in less than three weeks," Luke shrugged.

Shelby looked between Rachel and Lorelai before turning back to her dad. "I'll tell you la-ter," she told him.

Exchanging a confused look with the women, Luke replied, "Okay," and returned to the main matter at hand. "But is that okay, the idea to earn badges like in your game?"

She nodded.

He turned his head towards Rachel. "That sound good to you?"

Rachel shrugged, "Sounds good to me."

So it was settled. Lorelai asked Rory if she could find and print out an online image of the _Pokemon_ badges, and the three of them sat in the diner the next evening, cutting them out and laminating them with large, clear tape, sticking a piece of velcro to the backs of each one. Rory and Shelby colored a poster board for the chart, with Rory doing the lettering while Shelby colored them in. Lorelai and Rory had also printed out images of the characters to glue along the poster board.

"Looks good," Luke complimented when he came by their table as the girls were finishing up, topping off their coffee.

"So who's keeping this where?" Rory was the one to ask.

Not wanting to start anymore disagreements and to keep things fair, Luke shrugged, "That's up for Shelby to decide." He smiled down at her, hovering over Shelby's head. "Who's place do you want to keep it, Shell?"

Shelby lifted her head, looking upside at him. She thought about it before pointing up at him. So later that evening, at bedtime, Luke hung the poster up on the wall, next to Shelby's bed. Afterwards, he wrapped an arm around his little girl and held a long kiss on her cheek. Shelby wrapped her arms around his neck. He couldn't be more glad things worked out after all and hoped this would help Shelby overcome her fears. In fact, his hopes were lifted high when Shelby announced, "I no wai' until Sa'-uh-day!"


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The next weekend couldn't have come faster in Shelby's eyes and after an awkward dinner conversation, Luke couldn't help feel the same way. It was Wednesday evening after Luke had closed and brought dinner up for the three of them. He liked asking Shelby how her day was and how school was going. Things seemed normal at first, Shelby told him about having computer class as the class' special and working on their typing. Afterwards, the table got quiet as the three of them ate their burgers. That's when it popped out.

Shelby was swirling one of her fries in her ketchup. It must have been floating around in her mind from the school day because she eventually reached over and tapped him on the arm. "Dad?"

"Yeah," he acknowledged her, briefly glancing up from his turkey burger.

"Where do babies come from?"

Right as the question came out, Luke had taken a bite. It caught him off guard that he almost choked. Thankfully he was able to cough and clear his airways, taking a drink of his water, as well.

Jess had also heard and almost choked as well but he was taking a drink on his soda when Shelby asked. So it caused the soda to go down the wrong tube, producing a coughing fit for half a minute. "Did she just…" he had to pause to cough again. "...ask what I think she asked?" He coughed one more time.

Meanwhile, Shelby was looking between both guys with a puzzled look on her face as if she had said something wrong.

Once Luke was able to speak, he asked, making sure they heard right, though pretty sure they did, "What did you ask, Shell?"

"Where do babies come from?" Yep, they were right.

"Uh…." Luke looked over at his nephew, who held up his hands to say, "don't look at me. She's all yours. I ain't touching that."

He looked back at his daughter. "Um, why do you want to know, kiddo?"

"For our journal wri-ting today, Ashley told us her mom was having a baby and ta' i' was inside her mom's tummy." Shelby shrugged, innocently but confused, "how did i' ge' in tear?"

Luke froze in his seat as he stared at his kid. This was not happening. Not now. He could feel his face grow warm from the awkwardness, and of course Jess had to add to it.

"Yeah, _Uncle_ Luke. How did it get in there?"

His face had to be as red as Shelby's got whenever she felt embarrassed. "Uh, well… Um…" Luke tried to quickly think up an appropriate response to the kid's question. He knew he couldn't tell her the truth, not at such a young age. Closing his eyes, Luke made up something and just went with it. "Well, when… It's like this."

Jess was mockingly nodding. "Uh, never saw it that way." Luke just told him to shut up which Shelby pointed out it wasn't nice to tell someone to shut up. "Yeah, should be nicer than that."

Ignoring his nephew by this point, Luke turned back to his own kid. "You see, when two people love each other very much, that love creates a baby that forms inside the mother's tummy because that's where it has the most room to grow, closest to the heart," he explained, clearly pulling this from thin air, making it up as he went. Thankfully Shelby accepted the answer. Maybe a little too much. Luke didn't think he needed to be specific.

"Bu' I love you a lo', does that mean I will have a baby?" she asked, with a horrified look on her face.

Luke quickly thought up an answer to that as well. "It doesn't work if you share blood or DNA with the person." Jess tried to point out about the deep south, but he shushed the boy, interrupting him and told both of them to finish eating, glad the subject was finally behind them and hoped he didn't have to worry about explaining the real answer until much, _much_ later.

"Hey, Scout, want to hear more of Huck Finn's adventures, tonight?"

The kid's head shot over in her cousin's direction, her face lit up in excitement. "Yeah! Can we?"

"Hell yeah, we can. Hurry up and finish eating. The faster you finish, the sooner we can get back to the book."

Luke made sure she was all packed and ready to go, on Saturday, when it was time to take Shelby over to Rachel's apartment, making sure she had everything she needed or wanted. Before he left, Shelby hugged and kissed her dad, good-bye.

"Remember, you got this, Shell," he reminded her.

She nodded. "I go's tis."

"And make sure you listen to your mom, all right?"

Shelby nodded some more.

"Your mom's in charge while you're here just like I'm in charge at home. She can ground you and it will carry over when you get home. Understand?"

Again, she nodded.

Luke smiled, "But, most important, have fun."

Shelby smiled at that, too. "I will." She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight.

He squeezed her as well as he told her, "I love you, kiddo."

"I love you, too, Daddy."

Luke found it a challenge to stand to his feet and move towards the door. When he looked back, Shelby was already setting up her game console, taking everything out of her suitcase. Calling out, "bye," one last time which Shelby returned, happily, Rachel walked Luke out.

When they got out in the hall, Rachel turned to him. "Thanks for doing all this, Luke," she said.

"No problem," he shrugged, modestly. Quickly and unexpected, she stepped towards him and hugged him, herself. Luke held his arms around her, awkwardly until she stepped away, shortly afterwards.

Like it usually went, the rest of the day seemed to go smoothly. It was bedtime that was stressful for Luke. Of course, Shelby wanted to call him, to say good night and that she loved him while Rachel handled the rest of bedtime. Shelby still wanted to call him later in the night, to help calm her down, that was still the same. But that was the last he heard from her until the next day. Rachel sat with Shelby for as long as she needed, having decided to start the first night that way before eventually moving outside her door. It was all new territory for Rachel which brought some challenges for her, too. They all got through it, though.

Shelby wanted to come home early Sunday morning. For one, she loved her dad's breakfast better, and two, she couldn't wait to tell him. Dashing into the diner, Shelby couldn't help yell, "Daddy! Daddy! Guess wha'?" She dashed right over to him, who had just served a table, their breakfast.

Luke kneeled to her level. "What, kiddo?" he smiled.

"I did i'! I was 'till 'cared bu' I did i'!"

"Great, kiddo. I am so proud of you," Luke praised her. When he hugged her that was when Shelby realized they weren't alone. She was so excited to tell her dad, she forgot he had customers. When they let go, Shelby was as red as he had been the other night as her eyes darted towards the floor. "It's okay, Shell. Everyone gets excited." Luke gave her arm, a comforting rub and reached over to kiss her cheek.

In all honesty, they never really had to take away a sticker. Not yet anyway. Not with Rachel stepping up more and letting Shelby help show her how to be a mom, as well as taking Lorelai's advice. There hadn't really been a need for it. Plus, having the option to call her dad, if needed, helped too. That hadn't stopped yet and Luke wasn't about to put a stop to it. Also, just having the consequence of having one removed, in place, probably helped.

In fact, things had been going so smoothly, that when Lorelai called Luke in regards to the guest list to the Independence Inn's Bracebridge dinner, confirming with him who to place Shelby with on her guest list, he felt confident enough she could put her in the same room as Rachel, and Jess could room with him.

Luke closed up early that evening to make sure him and Shelby had enough time to get ready for the dinner, helping Shelby first. When the kid found out they had to dress up, she tried to get herself out of it, not wanting to dress up.

"Lorelai and Sookie invited us to a nice dinner, kiddo. You have to wear something nice, tonight," he told her in a gentle tone. "None of us want to go to this but we were invited. You can still wear jeans, is that okay?"

Shelby just stared up him, trying to butter her dad up with a puppy dog look.

"That won't work this time, Shell." In the end, Luke ended up having to ask her, "do you want to be able to spend the first day of your break, playing your game?"

She nodded and reluctantly gave in, pulling on a clean pair of jeans which her dad helped with the button. He also helped with her shirt, buttoning it for her in the front and tucking the bottom of the shirt in, fixing her collar last. Luke had at least compromised with her by letting Shelby wear one of her favorite t-shirts underneath as an undershirt. That helped, some. He let her watch TV and play with her toys while he got ready and told Jess for the umpteenth time to get ready once he was done.

"Shell, are your shoes on?" Luke walked over to his bed, to sit down and put his, on.

"Yeah," she answered, not removing her eyes from the TV screen.

Luke yanked his foot through the first shoe. "Tied?"

"No," she answered, honestly.

"Why not?" He leaned over and tied the laces.

"I need help again."

Luke did the same with his other foot before he asked Shelby to turn off the TV and come over to where he was sitting. She asked to finish watching her show, but Luke told her no. As soon as Jess was ready, they were leaving. So she turned off a cartoon about a bunch of talking babies, and went over to join her dad, climbing up beside him. Lifting her leg, Luke held her foot on his leg and showed her once more how to tie her shoe on her own, walking her through the steps. He had her attempt it on her own with her other shoe. Shelby got the first part right and walked her through it while still having Shelby do it herself, messing up on the first try. Luke wouldn't let her quit, though and had her try again until she succeeded on her own.

Luke packed both an overnight bag for both him and Shelby. "Are you taking Pikachu and Maggie?" he asked her.

"We spending ta nigh'?

"Yes, Shell. I told you that already," Luke reminded her.

"Oh, yeah."

"Okay, you have way too much TV and game time." He was mostly thinking out loud. "As soon as Jess gets out of the bathroom, go get your brush so I can attempt to make your hair a little more nicer." That hair of hers always seemed to be a mess. It wasn't curly or wavy, but it wasn't straight either. From a stranger's point of view, it looked like Shelby didn't even own a brush. Thankfully, another good thing about having Rachel in the picture, she was able to find a detangler spray that actually helped them brush out her hair. Luke never thought he would ever find himself brushing someone else's hair in all of his life before his daughter came along.

Between Jess and Shelby, they ended up leaving a lot later than Luke had planned on. After what seemed like an eternity, Jess finally came out of the bathroom, changed into clothes similar to theirs, he just didn't tuck in his shirt.

"You both left me very little hot water," he told them, annoyed, walking over to grab his own shoes.

"I told you to get ready earlier while I was closing down the diner," Luke pointed out, not at all feeling sorry for the boy. Turning to Shelby, he reminded her to go grab her brush and the detangler, telling her to hustle. Shelby hurried into the bathroom and grabbed her brush and spray bottle from her drawer, bringing them back to him. Sitting on the edge of the bed again, Luke had her face away from him. Spraying the stuff first, he then proceeded to brush her hair. Though a little more easier, the brush still got caught at a few spots. Luke tried his best not to hurt her, spraying as much as it took for it to glide right through and detangle her hair.

"Shell, can you please stop squirming so much?" he asked after a few minutes of tugging.

"I'm trying no to," she protested, pitifully.

"Not, kiddo," Luke corrected. "Not no, not." He continued brushing her hair.

"I'm trying nah to," she repeated.

Close enough. It didn't help the word also ended in one of the sounds Shelby struggled with. Miss Kelly had finally gotten Shelby to open up a little and because of that, was able to hear the sounds the kid struggled with. They were only starting, though, but Miss Kelly had told him, practicing at home would help Shelby get better. Remembering that, Luke had her try again, having Shelby break the word down.

"Naaaw- _t_ ," he enunciated for her, putting emphasis on the T sound, having her repeat it.

"Naaaw…" Luke reminded her to include the T, "...tuh. Naaw...tuh."

"Close." They didn't get it in one sitting. Luke continued on the way to the inn. On the way out, he called back over his shoulder for Jess to turn out the lights on his way out, finding out later that Jess neglected to do so.

"Use your tongue, kiddo," Luke reminded Shelby when they were in his truck and enunciated the T sound for her again, a few times, still using the same word.

"Naaw- _tuh_."

"That was good," he praised. The whole car ride there was sponsored by the letter T and its sound. Finally, Luke pulled up to the inn and parked behind everybody else, ending up one of the last ones to arrive.

"Hey, guys," Lorelai greeted them and smiled at Shelby, "and girl. You look...nice, Shelby," she added, seeming as she wasn't sure how to compliment the little girl, not knowing that many tomboys.

"It was all I could get her into," Luke explained. "She wouldn't even consider the dress my sister gave her."

"She looks fine," she assured him. To Shelby, "Your mom got here a while ago," and pointed the kid over where Rachel was talking to someone. Looking towards Luke first who nodded, giving her the okay that she could leave his side, and dashed over to her mom.

"Sorry we're late," Luke apologized. "Those two took a while to get ready," meaning Jess and Shelby.

"No problem, you didn't miss anything," she assured him. "Besides, we're still waiting on a few guests to arrive so you're not last. Just make yourself comfortable." Lorelai had to leave to go check on things in the kitchen so Luke started to head towards where his kid went.

Eventually, once all the guests had arrived, Lorelai got everyone's attention, thanking them all for coming and announced there would be horse-drawn sleigh rides before dinner. As soon as Shelby heard, she perked up, excited, jumping off of her dad's leg she had been sitting on. When Lorelai gave the lead outside, Shelby started pulling on his arm.

"I can take her if you want," Rachel offered. "Is that okay, Peanut?"

Shelby nodded.

"Put your jacket and gloves back on," Luke told her before the girls left. Shortly after, he followed after them to make sure, following outside as well. Of course Rachel had her camera with her, taking a few shots of Shelby with the horses and sleigh, making Luke get in a couple. With the girls' sleigh gone, Luke was left alone, attracting Bootsy until Lorelai came to his rescue, making him get in with her. It wasn't long before she was driving him crazy which he told her to stop talking about the horse's "heiny." She did try to change the subject, commenting on how the town looked beautiful that time of year and Luke was his usual boring, grumpy self. That was when he found out Jess hadn't turned off the lights like he asked him too.

"Knew I should have told Shelby to do it," he muttered to himself, out loud.

"How's it going with you guys?" Lorelai asked. "We spent so much time helping Shelby, I almost forgot Jess was even there."

"Great," he shrugged.

"Great? Really?"

Luke gave a slight nod, "Really."

Lorelai was staring at nothing in particular. "Well, good."

"It is good," he gave another shrug. "I mean, it was hard at first, seemed impossible, you know, but I've learned a lot these last couple of months. And, I really think Shelby's having an effect on him."

She looked at him, impressed. "Really? Like how?"

Luke shrugged it off. "I mean, it's little things, like helping her with her words, helping her when she's upset. Right now, Shelby's even got the guy reading to her. Never would have believed it if I haven't seen it with my own eyes. Course, Jess won't let her cuddle with him so Shelby has to listen from her own bed." He chuckled at that last part. "Really wish Rachel could see stuff like that, then maybe she'll be more comfortable with him being around Shelby."

"Rachel doesn't like Jess around Shelby? How come?"

"Well, when I told her why my sister was sending him there, she got uncomfortable with the idea of a troublemaker being around Shelby."

"Does she think Shelby will turn into a troublemaker like her cousin?"

Luke shrugged, "I guess. She did get into that fight, but I put a stop to it." He couldn't help chuckle.

She smiled, "What?"

"That kid that would bully the other kids, including Shelby and her friends, now they're friends."

Lorelai gasped in excitement. "You're kidding? Shelby made friends with a bully? How did she do that?"

"By being herself," he replied, honestly. "I guess the kid forgot his lunch the other day and had missed breakfast because for whatever reason. Nobody else would share with him."

"Everyone but Shelby," she finished, knowing the kid.

Luke nodded, smiling towards his hands. He looked up again, "the kid hasn't given anyone trouble since and now hangs out with Shelby and the twins."

"That's awesome. Good for her."

"Old habits are hard to break, though so Shelby has took to reminding him by kicking him in the leg whenever he tries to be mean. Seems to be working. I at least told her not to do it too hard, just enough as a friendly reminder."

Lorelai laughed, looking away at the scenic view.

"And, just last week, I've discovered the secret of parenting," he continued.

"You did?"

Luke nodded, facing forward, "Yep."

"The _secret_ of parenting?"

"The secret of parenting."

"When last week? Last Tuesday?"

"I don't know the exact day," Luke told her, annoyed, a little. She was clearly starting to mock him, now. "Don't mock."

There was a short break of silence before she said, "Well, tell me. What is….," Lorelai couldn't get her words out without laughing. "Wait, it's a secret. You can't tell me."

"No, I'll tell you," he said. "You visualize the reality you want," Luke slowly panned his hands out in front of him, which Lorelai repeated what he said. "And if necessary, you lie to bring it about."

Lorelai closed her eyes, laughing again as she said, "That is so much worse than I was expecting."

Luke quickly pointed out, "You never lied to your kid?"

"Uh, to save her from great physical pain, yes." He shrugged a hand up, nodding to himself as she continued. "When she was little and she would play in the kitchen, I told her the burners were the devil's hands, but I'd say it in a really scary evangelist voice," and said it in the voice to show him. "She still won't go near the stove."

Luke pointed at her again, "Yes, exactly. You told a little white lie for your kid's protection. Very similar to what I done."

"Which was?" she questioned.

"You know the winter break is coming," he explained.

Lorelai nodded, "Yes, I do."

"Okay, well, that means Jess has some time off from school. His mom knew that, and she never called."

She let out annoyed moan. "That makes me sick."

"So I just decided to keep Jess with us, and I told him, his mom wanted him to come home, but I thought since he just got there and he was still adjusting, that I thought he should stay. His mom was really upset, but I insisted. He bought it, hook, line, and sinker. Saved him a lot of hurt." Luke looked off at the passing scenery, proud of what he had told her. Things were quiet for a moment until Lorelai finally broke it.

"He didn't buy it."

He swiftly turned back to her. "What? Of course he did," and looked away again.

"He knows."

Luke stared at her, in disbelief. "It totally worked on Shelby," he pointed out.

"There's also an eleven-year age gap between them," Lorelai also pointed out.

He looked away, now second-guessing himself in his head.

"So what lie did you tell Shelby to protect her?" she asked, sounding somewhat curious.

Even though it brought back the awkward feeling, he told her about Shelby wanting to know where babies came from and the lie he came up with. "I left some truth in it. I just didn't think she needed to know the actual details how a baby was made."

"Ah, yes, the infamous baby question kids ask," Lorelai nodded. "I remember Rory coming home and asking where babies come from."

"What did you tell her?" Luke couldn't help ask, curiously.

She shrugged, "I just used the movie, _Dumbo_ and said the stork brings them."

"And she bought it?" he questioned.

"Sure. That is, until she found out babies come from the mom's tummy, then I just told her the truth, leaving out most of the details." Things got quiet again after a while so Lorelai decided to change the subject. "So is Shelby excited for Santa?"

"Uh, no. Uh, Shelby actually doesn't believe in Santa," he admitted.

"Are you serious?" she stared in disbelief.

Luke nodded.

"Why, what happened?"

"Back when Shelby was four, some punk kid decided to tell all the younger kids Santa was made up and that it was the parents who left the toys under the tree. Instead of correcting the kid, the foster mom panicked and told the kids the truth."

Lorelai shook her head, sadly, looking elsewhere. "Poor kid." She looked back at him to ask, "you couldn't use the 'secret of parenting' to get Shelby to believe again?" partly teasing him.

"After Shelby realizing her hat doesn't make her invisible, nope. Besides," Luke shrugged, "I think it would a little hard to have Santa over at our place, considering Shelby will be three feet from the tree and a light sleeper."

"You could set up the tree, downstairs in the diner," Lorelai suggested.

"There's no room for a tree in the diner," he argued, stubbornly.

"Sure there is. Move the tables around, you could totally fit a tree in that corner in front of the window. That way, Shelby can come downstairs, Christmas morning and see what Santa brought her and everyone can enjoy their meal and coffee with an incredible view of a nicely decorated tree."

Luke let out a breath of air, looking forward. "Rachel offered to have a tree put up over at her place."

"Shelby's not spending Christmas with you?" she asked.

"No, she is. There just won't be a tree up," he assured her. "Besides, I explained to her, Christmas isn't about the decorations, or the presents. It's about spending time with family."

"Has she ever had a good Christmas?"

He shrugged. "At least one." Luke stared at his hands. "It didn't start out great, though."

"What happened?"

Glancing at her, he said, "That kid who told the younger kids about Santa…"

"Yeah?"

"That was the same kid who locked Shelby in a closet. Happened two days before Christmas."

Lorelai gasped, heartbroken. "Oh, no."

"When the foster parents finally figured out what was going on, they intervened and let Shelby out, but she wouldn't move. The kid was so terrified, I guess she couldn't. So they tried to help her come out so they could sing Christmas carols together. Shelby ended up headbutting the foster dad in the privates and biting the foster mom. Long story, short, they called Madison. With it being so close to the holidays, Madison just kept Shelby at her house and let her spend Christmas with her family. They usually kept spare gifts stashed away in case of moments like that."

"That little jerk," she stated, meaning the older kid.

"Not the kid's fault. I'm sure somebody probably did something similar to him. Not that it justifies what he did to Shelby." Luke shrugged. It was always difficult for him whenever he thought about his daughter's past.

"Well, it doesn't matter, now that Shelby's where she belongs." Lorelai gave him a smile to help cheer him up.

Luke looked over at her and returned it as the sleigh was pulling back into the inn's yard.

"The kid's a tough one."

"She sure is," he agreed. Shelby got his attention, who was over playing in the snow. Hers and her mom's sleigh had already pulled in and were waiting for the rest. In the meantime, Shelby wanted to throw snowballs, nailing her dad when he came over. "Hey," he told her. Giving him her best puppy dog look, she stared up at him. Knowing she was just having fun, Luke just gave her a smile and hugged Shelby against his leg.

Once everyone had returned, they headed back inside for dinner.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

The dinner ended up starting after one quick minute than they anticipated which Bootsy pointed out that a minute couldn't be quick because it was always sixty seconds. Luke just kindly told him to shut up, trying to hold down his irritation.

Shelby, who was sitting in between him and Jess, patted Luke on the arm and whispered, "Be nice, Daddy," in his ear when he lowered it.

Luke couldn't help smile and kissed her cheek.

Lorelai had made it around the table, checking up on everyone, stopping at Luke and Shelby to inform them Sookie had made a special non-butternut squash soup for Shelby, to accommodate for her allergy. Luke thanked her and had Shelby do the same, which she gladly did. Eventually, the food was served, starting with the soup. One of the servers poured Shelby's, specifically asking for her. Luke responded for her, getting his attention.

Shelby had stuck her fingers in her ears when the trumpets sounded. Luke gave a gentle forceful push on her arm, "Shell, you can take your fingers out of your ears, now. They're done." Her soup was still similar-looking to the rest, it just didn't have the same main ingredient. Shelby was the first of the three to try her soup as the guys stared at theirs, wondering what the soup was made of.

"What's the white stuff?" Jess asked.

"I think it's cheese...or cream," Luke replied.

"And the green stuff?"

"I think it's best picked off." Luke picked out the leaf from his soup, tossing it to the side. He reached over and did the same for Shelby before she ended up eating it. "You like it, Shell?"

Shelby nodded and took another spoonful. This kid was obsessed with any kind of soup, Luke swore. In fact, when the main course was served, she asked if she could have more soup instead.

"Can you at least try it?" he asked her. "There's trout in it. Like when we go camping."

Shelby made a face, her nose wrinkling at the smell of it.

"Here, take one bite." Luke used his fork to pick up a reasonable amount and held it out for her to take a bite, having her chew and swallow before determining she didn't like it. Shelby was able to chew it for the most part, but Luke ended up having to grab her napkin and let her spit it out, shaking her head.

Rachel noticed from where she was sitting across from them. "Everything alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Luke was wrapping the napkin into a ball. "Shelby just doesn't like the food."

"Who could blame her," Jess stated from Shelby's other side which Luke shushed him.

Using his, Luke wiped around her mouth before suggesting to go ask Lorelai if there was any more of the soup. Sliding around on her chair, Shelby scooted down and slipped in between hers and her dad's. Luke kept an eye on her as she made her way over to the end of the table, shyly, gripping the corner to wait until Lorelai was finished talking.

"Hey, sweetheart. Need something?"

Luke was trying to see around four heads, finally noticing Shelby wasn't the only kid there. Dean had brought his younger sister along.

Shelby fingered at the edge of the table, staring at it as she chewed on her lip so Lorelai leaned over to give her, her ear. Luke heard Lorelai assure her she'd go ask Sookie and stood up to head towards the kitchen. Before Shelby could make her way back to her seat, Rory asked if she was having a good time which she responded with a shrug.

"My, aren't you a handsome fellow," Richard, Lorelai's father told Shelby.

Shelby just stared over in the older man's direction which Rory explained about Shelby being mute in certain circumstances such as that one and introduced Shelby to her grandparents.

Both of the Gilmores looked surprised. It was Richard who apologized for the misunderstanding. "I am terribly sorry, Shelby. I saw the way you were dressed and just assumed you were a boy. My mistake." He gave the kid a kind smile.

"I'm sure Shelby probably gets that a lot. Don't you, Shelby?" Rory turned to the kid.

Shelby nodded.

"So that man who owns the diner is her father?" Emily questioned.

"Yeah. Luke got custody of her about a year ago," she explained.

"Got custody? What happened to the mother?"

Rory motioned over at Rachel, with her head, and very briefly explained about where Shelby had been the first five years of her life. Lorelai returned at that point and told Shelby there was more soup and that it was on its way. Shelby thanked her and returned to her seat.

When dessert was served, Dean's sister, Clara, came over and asked if Shelby wanted to eat hers with the horses, with her. Shelby hesitated until Luke encouraged her to go with Clara, letting the older girl know not to force Shelby to speak if she didn't want to. He was glad when Shelby followed after, telling Shelby to be careful holding onto her plate. It was an even bigger relief when he found out the girls played together in the snow, having a good time, even if Shelby hadn't said a word.

As planned, Shelby slept in the same room as her mom which Luke assured her, he was just down the hall. Hugging and kissing her good night, the two parted company and let Rachel take over from there.

Everyone woke up, bright and early the next morning. To Luke's surprise, Shelby asked if she could go spend the day with her mom. Luke gladly told her she could and told her to give him a hug and kiss good-bye, first, which Shelby also gladly did, reminding her to be good. So it was just him and Jess on the drive home.

Shelby ended up staying through the weekend which worked out perfectly as Luke needed to put some finishing touches on the Christmas present he was making for her. Since she was starting to get the hang of fishing alone without his help, Luke figured it would be better suited if Shelby had a fishing pole more her size. So, for the past few weekends whenever Shelby was over at Rachel's or at school, Luke spent his breaks working on a child-sized fishing pole, keeping it well hidden so she wouldn't see it until Christmas morning. What he didn't know, though, was that Shelby had a similar idea, making his present.

Shelby had finally informed Luke what she wanted to do with her money she had been saving and to his surprise, it had nothing to do with another video game, even though there was still a particular game she really wanted, but would put it off a little while longer and continue playing it over at her friends' house. Instead, Shelby wanted to go Christmas shopping for everyone. Well, except him, but Luke figured she didn't want him to see what he would get her. He did find it strange when one day, Shelby came to him, asking to borrow some photos of him and his dad. When Luke tried asking why she wanted to borrow them, Shelby told him she couldn't tell him yet. It was nice, going through old photos and telling the stories behind them with his daughter.

Christmas morning, Shelby climbed onto her dad's bed, doing a Superman leap right on top of him, not only fully waking him, but knocking the air right out of him.

"Aw jeez. Shelby," he managed to scold her once the air had returned to his lungs.

Shelby sat on top of his torso. "I' time to wake up," she told him.

Luke looked over at the clock on his nightstand and saw it was fifteen minutes before it was time for his alarm to go off. "Not for another fifteen minutes, it's not." He then dropped his head back onto his pillow, closing his eyes. Suddenly feeling a presence inches from his face, Luke opened them again to see a close up of the kid's face, scaring the crap out of him, jerking his head away. Truth was, Shelby was causing him to have flashbacks to when he was a kid and his sister doing the same exact thing. He even caught himself saying, "you are your aunt's niece." It was mostly a muttered thought but Shelby still heard.

"Wha' aun'?" she asked. In total, the kid had two aunts, one from both him and Rachel.

"Your Aunt Liz. She used to wake me up like this when she was about your age."

"Oh," was all she said. There was a brief pause before Shelby asked, "How come we no see her?"

"Never, kiddo," Luke corrected her. "How come we _never_ see her."

Shelby repeated her question the way her dad said it.

"I don't know, kiddo," he shrugged.

Shelby's face gave a heartfelt, sad look. "I feel bad for Jess."

"Why's that?"

"I see my mom and he don'. Ta' sad."

"I know it is, kiddo. But at least he's got us, right?"

Shelby nodded. "I'll go wake him up." The kid started to climb down, off of her dad when Luke stopped her, holding an arm around her waist.

"No jumping on him," he told her, firmly. "Do it without knocking the wind out of him and if he doesn't want to get up yet, leave Jess alone. Got it?"

She nodded once more. Once she understood, the kid dashed over to Jess' cot, falling onto the edge, on her legs. Reaching over, she patted the boy's upper arm, repeatedly until he woke up.

"What?" Jess asked, with some irritation apparent in his voice.

"I' Chris'mas, Jess. Time to wake up." The only response the kid got was Jess turning over and continuing to sleep.

Luke had gotten up by that point. "Let him sleep, kiddo. We'll do our gift exchange later. Okay?"

Disappointed, Shelby scooted back off the cot and stood to her feet.

Coming over, he kneeled to her level. "Hey, we have all day, I promise." Getting dressed, Luke had Shelby help cook breakfast, hoping the aroma of cinnamon french toast and scrambled eggs would get the boy up. Shelby stood on a chair while Luke supervised, doing what she couldn't. It wasn't long before Jess stirred, unable to sleep any longer, not with the smell of delicious french toast lofting through the air.

"See? I told ya it would work." Luke gave Shelby a quick peck on the side of her forehead.

After the three ate and the kitchen was cleaned up, it was finally the part Shelby had been anticipating. While Luke was pulling out the gifts, Shelby had hurried over to her nightstand, pulling out everything but the kitchen sink before pulling out a couple wrapped Christmas presents of her own. He let Jess and Shelby open theirs, first, having Shelby open the fishing pole before the other ones.

Ripping off the Christmas tree wrapping paper, she tossed it to the side. "Wow, my own fishing pole," she said, wide-eyed, scanning the army green child-sized fishing pole.

"I thought since you're starting to fish on your own, it'll be easier having one your size," he explained. "You like it?"

Shelby nodded and jumped down from where she was sitting on the foot of her bed to hug him. "Tank you, Daddy."

Luke squeezed her tight and kissed the side of her head. "You're welcome, kiddo." Before Shelby opened another, they let Jess open one of his.

"Huh," he said as he tossed away the same Christmas tree wrapping paper, holding a copy of a book he wanted.

"That's the one you wanted, right?" Luke asked, making sure.

"Yeah. Thanks." Unlike his cousin, Jess didn't show much emotion.

Shelby opened another one of her gifts from her dad. This time, it was another one of Billy Gilman's albums. Taking turns, Jess also got a couple music CDs of bands he liked, plus a shirt. Shelby also opened another music CD, this time it was a soundtrack of songs from the _Pokemon_ TV show, along with a _Courage the Cowardly dog_ shirt and a set of Hot Wheels cars she had been asking for.

"I saw that at the music store by accident and figured that would be perfect for ya," Luke shrugged, meaning the _Pokemon_ CD.

"Is i' a game?" she asked, looking at the back of the case.

"No, it's all of the music from the cartoon. It has the theme song, and all of those songs they sometimes play at the end of each episode, including when they rap all of the _Pokemon_."

"Why do i' say Pikachu's good-bye?"

"Where?" Shelby showed him the song she was referring to.

"I don't know. Guess that's one of the songs they sang on the show. Come on, let's get this wrapping paper picked up so we can open the diner." He stood up to grab the trash can for the leftover wrapping paper when Shelby stopped him.

"Wai', Daddy. We no done."

He looked back at her. "We're not?"

She shook her head and picked up hers, handing Jess his, first. Ripping the paper off, Jess looked over a black, leather wallet Shelby had picked out for him. "You like it?" she asked him, eagerly.

"It's nice. Thanks," he told her.

Shelby smiled and latched onto the boy, hugging him tight.

"All right, all right," Jess nudged her away. "What have I said about the hugging?"

Shelby backed away, giggling.

"Here, Daddy." Shelby held up the other gift in her hand.

"For me?" Luke took the present with snowman themed wrapping paper from his daughter and ripped off the paper, wondering what it was. It was flat but was thick and rectangular shaped. He tossed the paper into the trash can he had brought over and saw it was a hardback cover book. If it wasn't for the fact Luke had been with her when she picked out the wallet for Jess, he had thought she had mixed up and switched their presents. "Oh, a book. Thank you, Shell," he pretended to be excited for her. Luke wasn't much of a reader.

"Open i'," she told him, eagerly.

Luke opened the front cover to the title page. What was there caught him by surprise. In blue crayon, the title read, "Just Me and My Dad." Underneath was one of the pictures Shelby had borrowed of him and his dad fishing when he was around Shelby's age.

"I made you a book like ta one I took camping. Remember? Do you like it?"

His mouth hung open as Luke flipped through the pages. The pictures were glued in on each page to make a children's story-like picture book just like the _Little Critter_ book. A lump formed in his throat, getting caught in the process. Luke also couldn't help feel his eyes start to water.

"Mom took me to ge' the book and helped me 'pell every-ting." There was a pause. Shelby must have sensed something may have been wrong because she asked, "You no like i'?"

Struggling, Luke forced the lump down before kneeling to her level, closing the book. "I...I love it, Shell. Thank you."

"Buh why are you sad?" The kid looked like she was going to start crying any minute.

"I'm not sad, kiddo." He firmly but gently added, "hey, I promise," when her gaze dropped. "I'm just…" Luke searched his mind for the right words. "...touched you would choose to do something like this for me." He then explained what he meant by touched once the puzzled look appeared, in terms where she could understand. "What made you think to do this?" he asked with curiosity.

"I remembered ta 'tories you told me and I wan-ted to make you a book for you and Granpa," she plainly said as she shrugged.

Luke couldn't help grin from ear to ear. He hadn't felt this happy on Christmas since the one he spent right before his mother passed. "Come here." Pulling her in, Luke squeezed his little girl in the tightest but gentlest hug he could give. "You have no idea how much I love you, kiddo."

"I love you, too, Daddy," she said from his shoulder.

Squeezing her one last time, Luke kissed her head before letting go.

Just as he done for Thanksgiving, Luke made a Christmas dinner for his customers, as well. Instead of turkey, he served ham. This time, Rachel stopped by, along with a few of their other friends. Lorelai and Rory were having dinner with her parents but they stopped by long enough to give both Shelby and Jess a little something and to receive their present Shelby picked out for them. Rory picked out a book she thought Jess would like while Shelby received a stuffed koala bear, twice as big as Pikachu and Maggie was.

"We figured you could use another furry friend to keep you company at night when you're over at your mom's," Lorelai told her.

Shelby hugged the stuffed animal before giving both Lorelai and Rory a hug, thanking them.

While the food was still cooking, Rachel took Shelby to the town's Christmas festival, which Shelby pointed out the Santa was actually Taylor. Thankfully, not out loud where the other kids could hear her.

Luke closed up early that night to spend the last few hours of Christmas with Shelby, drinking eggnog and catching _A Charlie Brown Christmas_ on TV, along with _Olive, the Other Reindeer_. Jess isolated himself, listening to music from headphones while already started on one of his new books while Shelby curled up on her dad's lap as Charlie Brown and his friend, Linus came on screen.

Christmas didn't end at midnight. At least not for Shelby. During her weekend with Rachel, Rachel's sister and three nephews came by for a visit. That Friday when Rachel stopped by to pick Shelby up, she had informed Luke, the boys had gotten an Xbox for Christmas and wanted to give all their old games to Shelby, not wanting to play Nintendo anymore. Knowing the two's agreement on video games, Rachel wanted to run it pass Luke first, making sure it was all right.

"Yeah, that's fine. As long as the games are appropriate for someone Shelby's age," he answered from behind the counter.

"My sister says there are a couple shooting games in there, but they're mostly _Mario_ type games."

"What the hell is a _Mario_?" he asked. "You mean that racing game Shelby plays over at Ethan and Allan's?"

"Uh, apparently, _Mario_ 's more than just racing," she told him. "My nephews have every game of his."

"Well, that oughta make Shelby very happy if that includes the racing game. She's been wanting that since her first sleepover. But if the shooting games are mature, don't give them to her."

"I'll let my sister know before she gets here, then." In retrospect, even though it was awesome Shelby's cousins thought of her and even helped them bond by showing her each game, teaching Shelby everything they had learned, for the rest of her winter break, Luke saw very little of the kid. Shelby's small collection of two increased by fifty, as well as four more controllers that were grey, watermelon red, fire orange, and ice blue. Now with a lot more to play, Shelby spent most of her days on her Nintendo until Luke started pulling her away to get her out for some fresh air or to do some other activity that didn't involve staring at a TV screen.

He did come up one night and found that Shelby had somehow convinced Jess to play _Mario Kart_ with her. It was a great mystery how the kid had managed that but there it was.

"Come on, that is so cheating!" Jess stated, bitterly. "Who leaves a banana peel in the middle of the track? And why are there cows?" His bitterness increased once Shelby chose the Rainbow Road track. After falling off over a dozen times and coming in dead last, Jess quit, storming back to his book. "The game's broken," he muttered out loud before tossing himself on his bed to return to his reading. Luke couldn't help chuckle to himself, under his breath.

Since Luke had a business to run and had to be up early for it, Shelby spent New Year's with Rachel, who let her stay up until midnight. She still called him though to give her dad a New Year's kiss through the phone, waking him in the process.

Before the break was over and school resumed, with the lake being frozen over, Luke finally got around to showing Shelby how to ice skate in case she decided to try hockey. She held onto his hands for dear life as they moved around the lake. Luke made sure to take things slow, not letting go until Shelby gave him permission to do so.

She kept looking down at her feet. Luke was skating backwards, leading her. "You gotta watch where you're going, kiddo," he told her. "Look up at me." Shelby lifted her gaze to look up at him as she continued to move her feet the way he showed her. "That's it, Shell. You're doing good."

Eventually, after an hour or so of circling around the ice, Luke asked if Shelby was ready for him to let go.

"You're doing great. I think you're ready to try it on your own. I won't go too far, I promise." To his relief, Shelby nodded her head, giving the okay. Releasing his hold on her small hands, Luke let Shelby release her hold on his at her leisure, encouraging her as they continued to move around the ice. He made sure to glance up over his shoulder every once in awhile to make sure they didn't run into anything. "Keep looking up at me. You got this, kiddo." Luke held his hands open with his daughter still gripping them in hers. He could feel how scared the kid was by how hard she was squeezing. "Come on, Shell. It's just like learning to ride your bike, or learning to sleep alone at your mom's. You got this, I know you do. I believe in you, kiddo."

Shelby managed to look up, her gaze meeting his. Not even a minute had gone by before Luke felt her grip loosen and eventually, Shelby let go.

"That's it. Keep going," he continued with the encouragement. She was a little wobbly, holding her hands out to the sides for balance. Luke, being overprotective, had made her wear her bike helmet in case she fell. Shelby was doing good, that is until they had to turn and her feet gave out right from underneath her and fell backwards. Tears suddenly appeared as she sat up, reaching behind her to rub at her back. Luke moved closer to reach down and extended his hands out to help her back to her feet, reminding her, falling was a part of learning.

"I' 'till hur's," she pointed out, sniffing in, repeatedly.

"You'll be okay," he assured her, calmly. "When I was learning to skate, I skated right into a tree and broke my nose."

That enlarged her eyes up at him. "Were you okay?" she asked, concerned for her dad.

"Yeah, I was just fine. Hurt a lot but it didn't stop me from getting back out there and trying again." Luke smiled for his daughter.

Shelby shook her head, "Please no le'me 'kae into a tree."

It made him chuckle. "I think you have a better sense of direction than I did, kiddo. You won't skate into a tree, I promise." It made her smile up at him. "Ready to try again?"

She nodded.

This time, Luke circled around her to move beside her and showed Shelby how to kick off on her own. The kid was still wobbly but she managed to move her feet, trying to copy exactly how he moved his feet, encouraging Shelby as the ice skating lesson continued.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

The new year started off smooth. As soon as school started, Luke cut down video games to thirty minutes a night during the week as long as Shelby finished her homework. Shelby seemed to be doing a little better in school. Miss Kelly gave weekly reports on her progress over the phone, keeping Luke up-to-date. Mrs. Avery had eventually been brought in with their sessions once Shelby was comfortable with Miss Kelly. By the end of January, Mrs. Avery was able to work, one on one with the sounds they were learning in class and the ones Shelby struggled with, Miss Kelly took over.

Digraphs and words ending with a T was still Shelby's greatest struggle to articulate and Miss Kelly's main focus. With reminders from everyone, including Luke, she slowly started to shy away from using the word, no, and using the correct words like don't or not, though the T sound in those words weren't heard, of course. Now and then, no would sneak in, as old habits can be hard to break. What surprised Luke was how most of their friends got involved. The usual recurring faces around the diner finally were able to hear the kid speak and help her with her words. It was soft and mostly whispers, but no one really pushed the kid. In fact, Miss Patty was finally successful in hearing Shelby sing.

"Luke, you got a prodigy on your hands," she told him one day when he came to pick Shelby up from her lesson.

"A prodigy?"

She nodded, "Oh, yes, dear. The way she sings is so beautiful I almost cried. It's so...innocent and sweet. I'm sure Shelby can melt any stone-cold heart." Of course, word spread too quickly of the talent the kid's been holding back from everyone. A few tried asking to hear, putting Shelby on the spot. But only a select few were able to hear it as Shelby only shared it with those she was most comfortable with. Unfortunately, word had reached the school around the time the first graders were practicing for their spring concert. The music teacher tried talking the kid into having a solo part, but Shelby refused and Luke ended up having to have a talk with her when he picked his daughter up that afternoon and she was still in tears. So, it was decided Shelby's talent would be kept in the family, along with close friends.

Shelby did still have to participate in the school concert, though. The kids practiced all through the month of February, in music class, and performed for the parents and relatives the first Monday night in March. Somehow, Shelby talked Jess into coming which Luke tried to ask about while they were waiting for the concert to start.

"I don't want to talk about it," was all he said.

"Seriously, how is Shelby talking you into these things when I, or anyone else, can't?" When it seemed like Jess wasn't going to give an answer, Luke just dropped it. Didn't stop his mind from wondering, though.

At that moment, Rachel showed up, along with her parents. "Hey, sorry we're late. It hasn't started yet, right?" she asked, taking the seat next to him, quickly making sure her camera was ready.

"Nope. You're right on time," he assured her. When Luke saw she had brought both her parents, he couldn't help feel his skin crawl. It bothered the guy a whole lot that Rachel's father couldn't let Shelby warm up to him first and let her speak at her own pace. Leaning over, Luke whispered to her, "What's _he_ doing here?"

"When I told Mom about Shelby's school performance, she wanted come see it. When I got there, Dad mentioned he wanted to see it, as well, since he hasn't seen her since last summer," she explained. When Luke showed his discomfort about the idea, Rachel added, "don't worry, I told Dad if he said anything about Shelby not talking, he wouldn't be allowed to come to any other school performances."

Looking up, Luke caught a stern stare from the man sitting on the end of their group.

At that moment, Babette, Morey, Miss Patty, Gypsy, and a couple others slid into the row behind theirs, sitting down. Luke was surprised to see them.

"What are you all doing here?"

"We came to see the show," Babette told him. "You didn't think we'd miss seeing our little Shelby's performance, did ya?"

That made his eyebrows rise, impressed. It probably shouldn't be a shock, considering they did come to a couple of Shelby's t-ball games, as well. Luke thanked them when Lorelai and Rory appeared, sitting on Jess' other side, in their row. He heard Rory also ask what Jess was doing there. Not even Rory could get an answer. Luke figured Shelby had asked for them to come, but asked anyway. Sure enough, he was right.

The concert eventually started with the kids from all three classes walking up on stage and climbing onto the choir platforms. Being one of the shortest in the first grade, Shelby was in the very front row, on the last step, surrounded by the kids in her class while Ethan, Alan, and Toby were over on the other side with their class.

Luke waved at her which Shelby waved back.

Rachel leaned over to ask, "You didn't have Shelby dress nice for this?" she asked. Most of the kids were dressed up for the occasion while Shelby wore a long sleeved, striped shirt, along with a pair of jeans.

He shrugged, "I wasn't aware this was a formal thing. Besides, that kid's wearing a _Batman_ shirt," Luke pointed to a kid in the back, looking like he was digging in his nose.

Shelby's main focus was the floor, holding her hands behind her back. Rachel had to rush over to kneel in front of the stage, to snag a picture when she couldn't get her to look up long enough. When Luke had waved, it had been very brief when Shelby waved back, returning her gaze, downward. The school auditorium was semi full of families and friends of each kid, there to see them sing.

It began with the music teacher coming out to stand at the microphone and give the introduction.

"Welcome, parents, as well as family and friends, to our first grade performance. I am Dory Freedman, I am the music teacher here at Stars Hollow. The students have learned so much this year and have put together some great songs for you so I hope you will enjoy. Our first song will be "Let's Go Fly a Kite.'" Leaving the microphone, the teacher headed over to sit at a piano sitting on the side of the stage. As she started to play, the kids began to sing, moving their hands in motions to the words. All except Shelby, that is.

Shelby continued to hold her hands behind her back as she stared at the floor. Her body looked tensed and uncomfortable. Luke was afraid the kid would get so nervous she'd wet herself right there which would make things feel worse for her. Halfway through the song, he started trying to get her attention, without being too loud, but loud enough she would hear him. Even though Shelby had caught onto the hat trick, Luke still figured if she used her hat to cover her eyes, it would make things easier so _she_ couldn't see the audience watching.

"Shelby," Luke called out for her for the seventh time.

Rachel kept looking at him each time Luke called for their daughter. Finally, she asked, "What are you doing?"

Luke glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to get her attention. _Shelby!_ " he tried one more time. Finally, Luke barely made out her eyes lifting towards him with her head rising just a bit. He reached behind him and pulled his hat around so it faced forward over his eyes before lifting it to tell her, "so _you_ won't see anyone, kiddo."

Relief washed over him when he saw Shelby had caught onto what he was trying to tell her, doing the same with her own hat, pulling it down over her eyes, just in time for the next song. There had been a brief pause before the kids started to sing, "Tomorrow," still moving their hands in motions to the words. Luke's idea worked, somewhat. It got her hands to come out and semi move. Not as much as the other kids, but it was something. Shelby wasn't singing either, at least not out loud. Luke was just glad she was participating, along with Rachel.

Lorelai reached her head forward to look around Rory and Jess, to grab his attention. "Good thinking there," she told him.

Luke smiled and thanked her before turning back to his daughter.

Rachel's mother had been recording the whole performance, using an old fashioned camcorder, mostly recording Shelby. Even though most of his attention was on Shelby, Luke couldn't help overhear Rachel's father share his opinion, pointing out now they couldn't see her face.

"Dad, I've told you a thousand times, Shelby has anxiety. Her hat is what helps relieve some of that tension. Also, remember our deal? If I let you come, you have to keep your opinions to yourself," she told him, trying to hold a calm demeanor.

Luke saw the man face forward again, clearly not fine with the agreement, but kept quiet anyway. He did make a comment about anxiety not being a thing when he was growing up and how it was a poor excuse of today's parents not parenting right. Just because nobody talked about it or understood, didn't mean it wasn't an issue. Luke was sure the guy probably wouldn't see it that way.

Rachel let out a frustrated sigh, turning back to their daughter's performance, snagging another shot when she had a good one.

Shelby still wasn't fully participating, not even when they started singing, "It's a Small World After All." That song was enough for Jess to comment, "please me kill now," under his breath as the kids marched along in place while swinging their arms. Living with both her dad and cousin, even with the hat covering part of her face, Luke could tell Shelby didn't like the song as much as they did. The kids sang more songs similar to the first three, lasting about half an hour before the music teacher stood up and returned to the mic.

"As an added bonus, the kids wanted to do a fun little dance number to wrap things up. Parents and families, you are highly encouraged to participate." She had the kids step down from the platform and spread out on and around the stage. Shelby moved off the stage and over to stand in front of her parents, facing them.

Luke held a thumb's up to her which she returned, shyly as the hip hop style music began. As with the rest of the performance, Shelby moved along, shyly until Lorelai jumped in, moving right next to her, to join in. Lorelai encouraged her, trying to get the kid to do more than what she was doing as the kids performed "The Cha Cha Slide". Most of the other parents also joined in with the kids, including siblings, and even some grandparents attempted the dance.

Lorelai tried getting Luke to do it, too, but the guy was a mule, of course, and refused. Rachel did though, stepping over to Shelby's other side. It was quite a sight, watching as the girls did as the guy on the soundtrack said to do, putting smiles on most of their faces. When it was over and the guy finished with _I'm outta here, y'all. Peace!_ , the kids, including Shelby, held up two fingers before they piled towards the exit.

After the performance, the parents waited for their kids right outside. Shelby came dashing over when Luke spotted her and called out to her. He lifted Shelby up, squeezing her, tight before setting her back on her feet.

"Great job, kiddo," he praised her, grabbing at the top of her head which Rachel agreed.

"Did you like it?" she asked.

Shelby nodded.

Jess nudged the kid in the leg with his foot. "Remember, you owe me," he told her.

She grinned from ear to ear at that before motioning for his ear, whispering something to the older boy.

"Got'cha," he nodded which Luke caught a slight smile from him. Rachel watched from where she was standing, but didn't say anything. Thankfully, she didn't seem upset or uncomfortable that time.

Lorelai and Rory came over, giving Shelby some flowers wrapped in plastic. The kid stared at them with a puzzled look and looked up at them, motioning for Lorelai's ear, to whisper something to her. Lorelai's gaze slowly went straight for Luke.

"What?" he asked, confused why she was looking at him the way she was.

"Your kid just asked me the same thing you ask, every year when we bring you flowers on Thanksgiving," she told him and turned back to Shelby. "We really need to have you hang out with us more often."

Luke actually found it amusing.

Suddenly, Rachel's father spoke up. He had no idea they had even been standing there. Not that Luke wanted to pay any attention, at least to her father.

"What do you say?" he asked of Shelby.

It must have scared her because Shelby nearly jumped out of her skin and clung onto Lorelai's legs.

" _Dad_ ," said Rachel.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot stand around and let my granddaughter be rude when somebody just gave her something. Now that I heard where she gets it from, I can see she doesn't have the best role models to enforce respectful behaviors."

Anger was starting to build up inside of Luke as his blood began to boil. Before he could speak up, Rachel beat him to it.

"Dad, I warned you. Keep your opinions to yourself or you won't be allowed another chance ever again."

But the older man would not stop. Not this time. "I told you, Rachel. I told you several times, getting involved with _him_ ," he motioned his head towards Luke, "would lead to nothing but trouble. _Him_ and that father of his."

That time, Luke finally spoke up, full on furious. "Leave my dad out of this," he responded, firmly.

The guy scoffed. William never did get along with Rachel's father. The two men couldn't see eye to eye on anything and when their kids started getting interested with each other, that ignited the flame even more than before. "I can't believe they gave you custody."

Luke glared at the guy.

Rachel stepped in. "Dad, that's enough. This night is for Shelby. Please do not ruin it with your old fashioned, close minded thinking."

He just started in on her instead. "If you hadn't of gotten involved, we wouldn't be having this problem."

"What problem, Dad?" Rachel shrugged her hands out to the sides. "You're the only one that sees there's a problem."

Her father pointed over where Shelby was still clinging onto Lorelai. She must have sensed this was going to get even more ugly because she interrupted the guy, "I think Rory and I should take Shelby, and start heading towards the diner."

Luke nodded in thanks at her, relieved for Lorelai's quick thinking and told Jess to go with them, as well while they sorted this out. Rory had to help her mom peel Shelby away so they could walk, talking to her with comforting words. Babette and them were coming over to congratulate Shelby on her performance, too, walking alongside the four of them.

"I never should have let you come," Rachel blurted out once their daughter was out of earshot. "I should have known you couldn't keep your opinions to yourself. You never did and you never will."

"Lloyd, please stop this," his wife tried to reason with him when he tried to counter their daughter's statement. "You're making a complete fool of yourself."

"Edna, we raised our children to be respectful especially towards their elders. To show gratitude as soon as they receive a gift, no matter if they like the gift or not. To speak when they are spoken to. I expect those manners to be passed down to our grandchildren as well. However, I see the message, of course, did not stick with our youngest, whom you continued to baby throughout her whole childhood, and now it's getting passed on to our youngest grandchild."

Rachel held her face in her hand, pinching the bridge of her nose, while Luke could feel his blood continue to boil, his fists clenching at his sides. "Dad, we do not baby Shelby," she informed him, slowly, trying hard not to explode. "We do what we can when we can. I had to learn that. Now, if we have to, Luke and I will force her out of her comfort zone but in a loving way. And Shelby is the most grateful kid I've ever known, she just doesn't communicate it, verbally."

Luke managed to add to her thoughts, also trying to remain calm. "Lorelai is Shelby's pal. They're always doing funny little things like that. It doesn't mean Shelby is ungrateful for the flowers, she just has her own way of showing it." He shook his head, not sure if that statement made any sense and asked Rachel if she understood what he was trying to explain which she assured him it did make sense.

Lloyd wasn't accepting it, though. "Adults and children are not what you call _pals_ ," he used the term, pals, sarcastically. "Adults have a higher authority than children, as children are meant to obey adults.

"Yes, I can understand that and we put that first before anything else, but there are moments where I give Shelby charge over certain decisions or situations. Yes, I'm her dad first and we're buddies, second…"

That didn't sit well with the older guy. In fact he glared back at Luke as if he had said something offensive. "As fathers, it's not our job to be our children's _pals_ or _buddy_. It's not our job to be liked. It's our job to raise our children, right. Obviously…" Lloyd's eyes moved over to Rachel. "Somewhere down the line, I must have failed with one of my children. Why else would we have a bastard grandchild."

Luke practically lunged towards him. Thankfully, Rachel thought fast and held Luke, back.

She gave her father a cold stare. "That is the final straw. You are never allowed in our daughter's life, _ever_." Rachel was still holding Luke at bay. Not another word was said. After another minute of dead silence, Lloyd broke it.

"Then you are _not_ a part of this family." His words were emotionless and cold.

Luke looked down at Rachel, who looked like she was trying to keep up a front in front of her father.

Stubbornly and full of too much pride, Lloyd turned and walked away. Her mother tried to call after him, reason with both Lloyd and Rachel, but neither one budged an inch. Rachel held her eyes closed at the ground. Soon, Edna hurried after her husband, continuing to plead with him. When they were gone, Luke was able to find his words.

"Rachel...you okay?"

She just shook her head. However, she did manage to assure him, she was even though she didn't look it. Turning towards the direction she had parked, Rachel added, "tell Shelby I'll pick her up for school in the morning," before walking away without another word. Luke couldn't even find the heart to mention, Jess had been leaving early for school, letting Shelby tag along, and pick her up as well. He didn't know where they went but apparently the two had a secret spot they hung around. For now, Luke just watched as the mother of his child walked away. Why did things have to be so complicated? How can life be so ugly when family should be there for one another?

Luke got back to the diner to see Lorelai had gotten Shelby happy again, playing that dot and line game Shelby liked a lot, where each player connects the dots and tries to form a box. Whoever finishes a box gets to claim it and writes their initials inside. The player with the most boxes, wins. Sending Caesar home, Luke worked until he closed down for the night.

Since Jess had Shelby's mornings and afternoons, Rachel didn't see their daughter until the weekend when she came to pick her up. In fact, the cousins were spending a lot more time together. Doing what, Luke had no clue. Some days, they would be gone for hours. Her homework was getting done at least so it wasn't like Luke was complaining. Besides, if the two were staying out of trouble, what harm could it be? It also cut the kid's screen time in half and got her outside more.

Shelby still found time to work in the diner, still wanting to earn her allowance for her games. Though, now she would save for other things. If there was a toy or something she wanted, Shelby worked hard and saved for it. That had been one of the perks to come out of her sticker chart. Even with Rachel stepping up more, it was still a challenge for the kid, not to want to quit and come home, not wanting to lose a badge. Shelby struggled through it and earned each one, eventually earning all eight and gained her prize.

 _Pokemon_ cards were easiest to save for since a pack of them only cost around a few dollars. A deck of them cost around ten dollars so a lot of her allowance went into her new trading card collection which Shelby ended up picking out a binder with sleeve sheets, to organize them better. Her favorite card ended up being a holographic card of her favorite _Pokemon_ called Charizard. At one point, Jess asked to see it which she asked, "Are your hands clean?" holding the card out of his reach. The stuff that came out of the kid's mouth could be quite amusing at times. The most hilarious part was the fact Shelby wasn't even trying to be funny, nor was she even aware of it. It showed best when she innocently asked questions Luke felt Shelby should never know the answer to, especially during a time when Rory stopped by with her friend, Paris.

Things were harmless at first. Shelby was happy to see Rory, who introduced the kid to her friend. Not long after, Paris started in on how diners were breeding grounds for prostitution and drug dealers.

Luke suddenly stared at her.

"Have you ever seen anything like that?"

He tried to point out his six-year-old was within earshot but Paris wouldn't stop, asking about the reverend that was sitting over, enjoying his coffee. With irritation at record height, Luke asked Rory how much she liked her friend which Rory assured him he could do what he had to.

At that point, Jess came downstairs which Paris pointed out, wanting to know where he came from, asking if that was where he kept the girls.

Jess of course went along with it. "Wow. I think she got you, Uncle Luke. You better give up now."

"Do not add to this insanity," he told him, firmly, trying his best to remain calm.

Jess however kept going with it. "Innocent kids like me and Shelby should not be raised in an atmosphere like this."

" _Jess_!"

He threw up his hands in front of him. "I want to be good. Life's just not letting me."

Done with the whole thing, Luke turned back to Rory. "Rory, get her out of here!"

Rory quickly stood up off her stool and pulled her friend out of the diner as Luke crossed his arms tightly. Once the girls were gone, he turned and glared at his nephew until he felt a tap on his elbow.

Turning to his daughter, Luke asked, "Yes, Shell?"

She leaned forward to whisper, "Wha' ta girl talking abou'?"

"Nothing, Shell. Don't worry about it, okay. Those are what we call, crazy people and you should avoid them at all costs," he explained.

"Oh," she plainly replied, but still held a puzzled look on her face. Once the two finished their shift, the cousins disappeared for an hour or two, returning after it had gotten dark.

With spring gracing its appearance in Stars Hollow once again, the temperature was nice enough it was considered picnic-weather. Luke could care less about picnics but he found out later from a source who called herself Lorelai that Shelby liked the idea of making a picnic lunch for someone to bid on and come find out the kid was experiencing her first crush already.

Somehow, even though he despised picnics and town events, Luke found himself suckered into bidding on a basket with two stale pop tarts and a slim jim, costing him fifty-two dollars and fifty cents, all that he had on him at that moment. He at least insisted on sitting on the bench inside the gazebo instead of on the ground. Luke wasn't comfortable whenever Shelby willingly sat on the ground. There was no way he was. Finally, he got up and headed back to the diner to bring back some real food, promising brownies when Lorelai playfully acted offended he didn't want to eat the lunch she had packed. When he returned the two chatted which Luke asked who she wanted to bid on her basket before admitting it was somewhat nice sitting there, having a picnic outdoors.

During an awkward pause that was when Lorelai told him, "By the way, Shelby's having her first date."

"What?" Upon hearing Lorelai's statement, the guy shot up like a rocket, looking around at everyone else who was enjoying their picnics. He nearly dropped his container of carrots in the process. "She's not allow to date until she's thirty."

"Relax. It's just Kirk."

Luke searched around, trying to find where Shelby was. He quickly looked at Lorelai when she said who she was with. "Kirk? Really?"

"Yep," she answered with a smile. "Rachel says Shelby's got a tiny crush on the guy and wanted to make him a basket just for him to bid on." Lorelai then added, "Rachel's supervising the whole thing, don't worry. So sit down already."

It took a whole lot of effort for the guy to relax and sit down. Slowly but surely, he lowered himself back onto the bench.

"I think it's cute, actually," Lorelai snickered at the idea of Shelby having a crush on Kirk.

Dean interrupted them, needing to speak with Lorelai about something so she stepped away to speak with him. While she was away, Luke couldn't help search around for his daughter, spotting her over on the other side of the park, indeed sitting with Kirk. Rachel sat nearby watching the scene, no doubt getting pictures of it. At least it was ol' harmless Kirk she liked. Not to mention, it was a harmless, innocent kid crush. After all, Luke had an innocent crush on his fourth grade teacher as a kid, didn't mean anything. Not that he would admit that to anyone. The fact that his little girl was already starting to take an interest in boys is what scared the guy to death. Before Luke knew it, Shelby would be reaching that age to start going on real dates with boys her same age and wanting to kiss them, and before long that boy would be replacing him. _Him!_ The most important person in her life. In fact, the feeling made him feel a little choked up but Luke managed to fight it, masking the feeling deep within.

Lorelai eventually returned. All she did was say, "hey," and it was enough to make the guy jump out of his skin, coming back out of his thoughts. She must have caught onto what he was thinking because she assured him, "it happens eventually. It's always inevitable and there's nothing you can do about it," as she continued eating her fries.

Luke stared down at his carrots. Now and then, he stole a look over at his little girl. "I know."

Changing the subject, Lorelai asked if the situation with Rachel's folks resolved itself or not, yet.

"Rachel won't even talk about it," he said. It had been good Jess had started willingly taking Shelby to school that following morning after her performance. Luke found out later Rachel ended up hungover and overslept that morning. Really, he couldn't blame her. Luke had felt he needed a few beers after the whole ordeal. If it wasn't for the fact he had to be up early the next morning to open the diner and make sure Shelby was ready for school, he might've.

"Well, I told her if she ever needed a friend, I knew a thing or two about difficult parents."

Luke chuckled to himself at his food. "Thanks," he told her.

She smiled. "No problem." Changing the subject once more, Lorelai started to tease the guy, enjoying it all the way. "So when's the wedding happening?" she asked, referring to Shelby and Kirk. "I'm invited, right?"

He just rolled his eyes as she continued with the harmless jokes.

The following week, Luke's ended up in one of its lulls that happens, occasionally, where very few customers comes by. Of course, the Gilmores still stopped by, trying to decide where to sit. Jess and Shelby had already left so it was just the three of them. He was saved when the phone rang after Lane had called for Rory.

"Luke's."

"Luke, it's Miss Kelly. Is this a bad time?"

"Oh, hey," he greeted his daughter's speech therapist. "No, I've got time."

"Great," she replied, cheerfully. "Well, I was calling to give you an update on Shelby's progress. You must be practicing hard, nonstop at home."

"Well, actually things have been a little hectic lately here at the diner. We've haven't really been able to put in a whole lot of attention with her speech practice," he admitted. "But the diner seems to be slowing down right now, so Shelby and I can get some more in."

"That's good to hear. Her TH still needs some work and she still can't grasp the ending T sound, but I gave her an assessment test yesterday and she did really well with her ch and sh words."

His eyebrows rose at that. "Really," he said, impressed. "She goes with her mom on the weekends so her mom must be picking up the slack for me. Plus some friends also help out when they can get her to talk."

"Well, who's ever doing it is doing a terrific job. Normally, my students don't get their sounds down for a while after they start seeing me. Shelby's shown amazing, quick progress at least in the last couple of weeks. You oughta be really proud of her."

Luke smiled into the phone, staring at nothing. "I am very proud of Shelby," he stated, proudly. "And we will make sure to work harder on her other sounds." The two finished up their phone conversation before hanging up. Once Lorelai and Rory's breakfast was ready, Luke brought them their plates.

"Who was that?" Lorelai asked, curious.

"Who was what?" he asked.

"On the phone?"

"Oh, uh, that was Shelby's speech therapist at school. She calls me once a week with weekly progress reports on Shelby."

"How's she doing?" Rory asked, already starting on her breakfast.

Luke stood there, holding his hands on his sides. Like a proud papa, he shared with them what Miss Kelly had told him.

"That sounds awesome," Lorelai praised, sounding proud herself as if it were something her own kid had accomplished. "Congratulations."

He thanked her.

"Soon, she'll be a little easier to understand," Rory added. Come to think about it now, Luke had noticed Shelby's speech was starting to sound more smoother. In fact, since he was able to close up early, Luke struck up a conversation to see for himself, that evening.

"How was school, today?" he asked, relaxed on the couch. They had already gotten ready for bed.

Shelby was leaning against the arm of the couch. "Good." That was not a complete answer he was hoping for.

"Tell me about it," he encouraged her to go into more detail.

"Um, I don' know," she shrugged.

"Did you do anything fun?" he continued to press on.

"Uhhh…" Shelby held that word for a long time as she stared up at the ceiling. "Naw really. Jus' a bunch of work." Hearing the ch sound in bunch got his attention but Luke didn't draw attention to it. At least not yet.

"Did you have any tests?"

"Naw till Friday. On Friday, we have a 'pelling tes'." Suddenly, Jess loudly cleared his throat as if he had something caught in it. Luke didn't think much of it until Shelby tried to correct herself. "I mean...sss-pelling tes'."

The thought crossed his mind if it was Jess' doing that Shelby was excelling in her speech. After all, the kid was spending a lot of time with her cousin and Luke still did not know where it was the two goes off to or do.

"Well then, how about if we study your words," he suggested and had Shelby fetch her backpack. Since some of the words also had the sounds she struggled with, Luke threw in some speech practice along with the spelling practice, having her sound out the word before and after spelling the word. They practiced Thursday night as well. With all of the studying, Shelby ended up coming straight home from school, Friday, all excited, as she waved her spelling test in the air.

Not saying a word until Luke kneeled to her level, she showed him the half sheet of paper. At the top, in red ink, was a great big 100%, circled, along with a smiley face.

"Awesome. Great job, kiddo," he praised her, proudly.

Shelby was beaming from ear to ear, proud of herself, as well which Luke was very glad of.

"How about we go out to eat, tonight, to celebrate you getting a one hundred on your spelling test?" Luke suggested.

Shelby nodded. "Are we going to Maisy and Buddy's?" she asked.

He touched his forehead to hers. "Of course." That made the kid even more excited. Aside from Lorelai and Rory, Maisy and Buddy were the next ones Luke had told he had a kid, though they had never met Rachel, just heard about her. They did meet Shelby eventually and of course fell in love with the kid at first sight. Since then the couple had come to be Shelby's surrogate grandparents. Like everyone else, it took some time before she warmed up to them, but eventually they started getting a few words.

Shelby talked Jess into coming along as well. She showed Maisy her spelling test, proudly holding it up.

"Oh, wow. A one hundred percent calls for something special," said Maisy. Once she had their orders, the older woman left, returning shortly with her husband, wanting to see this "special spelling test" as well. Both of them knew about Shelby's anxiety and had been just as kind and patient with her as Luke had been. Though Maisy always pointed out how much Shelby reminded her of him at that age.

To finish out the evening before bed, Luke let Shelby have thirty minutes of game time, somehow finding himself playing along too. He had chosen the green hat guy before they chose the track. Going easy on him, Shelby chose the easiest track, showing him how to drive. Thinking he was a great driver in real life, this would be a piece of cake. Wrong!

The race started with Luke messing up as soon as the light turned blue. Then once he got his cart going, Luke kept bumping into walls and zig-zagging all over the track. At one point, he thought he was doing good until he realized he was driving in the wrong direction. That's when he realized driving on a video game was not the same as driving in real life. Not even close. But he had to admit, it was fun in its own weird way. The important part was Shelby was happy.

Saturday, letting Shelby sleep in, Luke opened the diner. Lorelai stopped by at her usual time, alone, though Rory was with her, she just had to run a quick errand. He couldn't help notice something was on her mind, asking if she was okay, pointing it out to her and offered to play bagel hockey with her. She humbly passed on it, stating she had one of those moments where a person stepped in quicksand before having an anvil dropped on their head.

"I've had one of those," he said and offered to bring her some coffee before turning away.

Shelby came downstairs, wide awake. He assumed she had been up for a while, probably watching her cartoon before coming down. Saturdays was when the network aired new episodes so Shelby had come to not sweat it if she missed _Pokemon_ during the week since they were always reruns.

Kneeling to her level, Luke asked if she wanted something to eat which she nodded. "Sleep good?" he asked.

Again, she nodded.

"That's good," he smiled and told her Lorelai had just gotten there and looked like she could use some cheering up. Shelby was happy to oblige, dashing over to give the woman a hug while Luke poured coffee for both Lorelai and Rory. When he brought them over to their table, Rory had come in. Shelby ended up moving over to the counter, to climb up onto one of the stools on the end.

"You're not sitting with Lorelai and Rory?" Luke questioned in surprise.

Shelby shook her head and whispered in his ear, "Lor-lai said she needed to talk to Rory, alone."

"Ah," he said. "So, what was Ash and the gang up to, today?"

"Tey me' a guy who could talk to Pokemon and tey could talk back to him," she told him.

An eyebrow rose in confusion. Talk to Pokemon? Didn't those things just growl or say variations of their names? Luke didn't know that was an actual language. "He could, huh?"

She nodded. T'ese o'ter guys said tey could too bu' were lying. Tey were jus' tricking people. Ta cop said they were 'cam ar-tis'. Wha' ta'?"

Luke had to decipher what Shelby was saying. "Cam are kiss?" It took a few tries until he told her to sound it out, slowly.

"Sss-cam ar-tis'," she enunciated as slow as possible.

He sounded it out with her. It was difficult considering she was also whispering. Suddenly, a loud outburst interrupted the deciphering, getting theirs, especially Luke's attention. Actually, it got the whole diner's attention. With the lull passed, the place unfortunately was packed once again.

Looking up, Luke saw Rory's father had come in, now sitting where she had previously sat, catching Rory talking to some lady, outside. The guy's voice was extra loud as Lorelai just sat there, trying to defend herself. It seemed like they were in some kind of argument that sprang from something Lorelai had mentioned to him. Eventually, he stood up, finishing with one final note before storming from the diner. A wave of protectiveness had washed over Luke, ready to pounce in case things got even more ugly but when Lorelai's gaze met his, afterwards, Luke quickly looked away, acting as if he were looking over past orders.

Shelby, on the other hand, climbed down from her stool and slowly made her way over, stopping beside where Lorelai was sitting. Luke lifted his head more just as the kid wrapped her arms around the woman as if to comfort her.

"Thanks, sweetheart," he heard Lorelai thank the kid, holding an arm around her. At least one of them was bold enough to go over there.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The Friday before spring break, Rachel stopped by the diner to pick up Shelby for their weekend. Shelby hadn't gotten home yet, though so she had to wait. In the meantime, Luke took the time to see how she was doing.

Rachel shrugged, sitting across from where he was standing at the counter. "I guess I should admit, it was bound to happen, sooner or later."

"What are you talking about? It shouldn't have," he stated.

"Well, yeah, but my dad and I have been fighting since I was five when I said I wanted to play soccer instead of continuing ballet, and it only got worse as I got older."

Luke couldn't help snicker at the thought of Rachel doing ballet which she raised herself so Rachel could reach over and punch him. "Ow!" he protested. "Sorry, I just can't picture you dancing around on your toes."

"Keep it up and you'll be dancing around on your toes," she threatened.

Luke had to think on that statement, confused. Regardless, he zipped the lip before Luke found out what she meant.

Even though they were just friends now, it always felt weird having Rachel around. Half the time, Luke had to force himself to start a conversation, mostly keeping silent. It was Rachel who usually kept the conversation going which was good, because as long as she did the talking, things seem to run smoothly. Still, he was hoping Shelby made it home soon. It did seem like her and Lorelai seemed to be striking up a friendship, though.

Shelby was still hanging around Jess. In fact, aside from her and Rory, Luke was pretty sure the boy hadn't made any other friends. It was amazing Jess was willing to let a kid hang around him, considering it seemed like Jess had inherited his low tolerance for annoying people, and that especially included little kids. Whenever there was an obnoxious kid brought into the diner by a customer, both uncle and nephew showed some displeasure. Even Ethan and Alan had a moment or two where Jess looked like he wanted to pull a Garfield and mail the boys to a foreign country.

But not Shelby. Since moving in with them and the two hanging around each other, Jess hadn't shown one bit of irritation towards his cousin. Possibly it was because Shelby wasn't like other children. She may ask questions from time to time, but it wasn't to the point of annoyance. Plus, it probably helped she was just as mute as he was, if not more.

The bell chimed above the door, finally bringing in Shelby and Jess.

"Go grab'em and we can head out again," he heard Jess say before Shelby dashed upstairs.

"Jess," Luke got his nephew's attention.

"What?" he asked, sounding clueless like he didn't know what his uncle was going to tell him.

"Did you forget I said to have Shelby home by four?" he reminded him. "I told you Shelby was getting picked up today."

"Sorry," the boy said. "We stopped by the bookstore to see if they finally got _Tom Sawyer_ in yet." He held it up to show him. "They do, by the way."

"That's great, but her mom's been waiting for an hour."

He gave a slight shrug. "Just lost track of time. Won't happen again."

At that moment, Luke noticed a blur out of the corner of his eye appear, from the back that led upstairs, go by. Shelby was then standing beside her cousin, once again, this time holding her deck of flash-cards and her backpack gone.

It was Rachel who got their daughter's attention. "Peanut, did you forget I was picking you up?" she asked her.

Shelby pointed up at Jess.

"You don't want to come over and work on our mother-daughter project?"

She shook her head.

"It's okay, kiddo. You've been really good with staying over at your mom's, the last few months. If you want to skip a weekend to stay home with us and spend time with Jess, that's fine," Luke assured her. Shelby had been very good about it. There was a slight drawback, back in January, during a snowstorm when the town lost power and Luke couldn't be reached when it scared her. Rachel was able to get Luke on the phone for a few minutes for Shelby to talk to him which she had asked to come home. He was in the middle of convincing her it was too dangerous for him to come get her when they lost reception. The storm had cleared by morning which Shelby still wanted to come home. It had been a long night for her, and so for the next couple of weekends, she refused to go sleep over at her mom's, not wanting to be trapped away from her dad. Other than that, though, Shelby had been fine for the most part. It looked like all Luke and Rachel needed to work on was getting Shelby through severe storms while over at her mom's.

Shelby lit up, excited when her dad said she could stay home and go off with her cousin. Turning around, she started pushing on the boy's legs.

Jess had looked down once the kid had started pushing. "Scout, you can not physically move me," he told her. Stepping backwards and giving all she had, Shelby shoved her whole body into his legs. Nothing. Frustrated, Shelby gave his shin a good kick which Jess lifted his knee to rub at his shin. "Jeez. It's not my fault I'm stronger than you."

"Shelby," Rachel scolded.

"Shelby Danes, get upstairs, now," Luke also said. When she tried to give him a sad puppy dog look, he had to steel his heart as not to cave in. "I've already warned you, several times to not kick anything other than a ball. Now get up there," he pointed behind him towards the stairs. Hanging her head, Shelby made her way towards the stairs, this time at a slower pace. "I'll be up in a few minutes to talk about this," Luke called after his daughter. He hated having to put on the "tough dad" hat.

"You know, it wasn't a big deal. Not like it hurt that much," Jess tried to point out. "We mess around like that all the time."

"Messing around and actually doing it where it hurts are two different things, Jess. Shelby has to learn she has to learn to control how hard she does it."

"I can go talk to her since you're busy down here," Rachel offered, starting to slide off the stool.

"No, I got this. I told her, I'd be up to talk to her," Luke assured her.

While Jess was waiting for his cousin, Luke asked him if he could clear some tables for him, passing him a rag. When it was time to go up there and talk to Shelby, Rachel tried to accompany him but assured her he had it. It was mainly the fact of the mess his apartment was in and did not want to argue about it before he could get it organized.

Shelby was sitting on her bed which was surrounded by boxes of Jess' stuff his mother had sent over. Luke made a path for the three of them to maneuver around the room, only Shelby had to step on Jess' bed to get to hers. Having her stand on her bed, Luke lifted her over to his bed, sitting beside her.

To begin, Luke told her, "Tell me why I sent you up here."

Sitting with one leg folded in and the other pointed towards the ceiling as she held onto the toe part of her shoe, she stared off to the side.

Luke tapped the side of her foot for Shelby to remove it from his bed. She dropped it, limply hanging it over the edge. "Shelby," he warned, firmly but gentle.

"I kicked Jess." Shelby kept her eyes on the same spot.

Luke held his head tilted to the side to somewhat look directly at her. "Is it okay to kick someone?"

She shook her head.

"Shelby."

"No," she finally replied, pitifully. Her eyes watered a tiny bit. Using the sleeve of his shirt, Luke wiped her eyes dry.

"You're not in any trouble, kiddo. But I need you to understand that you can't kick someone that hard. A gentle nudge with your foot is fine if you're playing around. No more than that. Okay?"

Shelby nodded.

"You and Jess can pick on each other but neither of you should be using your full strength and I know you are stronger than you think you are, kiddo."

She nodded a second time. Finally, she looked up to ask, "Can I go with Jess, now?"

"Sure," he smiled for her. "But only if I can have a hug first." Luke opened his arms out to his little girl. Smiling as well, Shelby wrapped her arms around his waist which he wrapped his around her before letting go. "Consider this a warning. Next time, you'll be grounded. Got it?"

She nodded a third time.

Once Luke got back downstairs, Rachel was still hanging around and the cousins had already split. "Hey. What are you still doing here?"

"I wanted to know why you told Shelby she could go with Jess when we had plans?" she asked.

Luke had grabbed the coffee pot to refill a customer's cup, on the other end of the counter. "She wanted to hang out with her cousin," he shrugged. "I didn't think there was any harm in it when the kid's been doing great at sleeping over with you. It's not like she has court-ordered weekends. In fact, the only weekends I've gotten with Shelby were those two weekends after that storm we had."

"You have her five days a week for the most part."

"She's in school most of that time," Luke pointed out. "So, really, you see her more than I do."

Rachel started to argue but surprisingly caught herself and stopped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" She took a deep breath, letting it out.

"It's okay," he assured her. "I'm sorry too." Luke rubbed at the back of his head, adjusting his hat in the process. "You been waiting here for Shelby to come home and I end up letting her go do something else instead. It's just… She's been having so much fun with Jess, and keeping him out of trouble…" He shrugged. "It's actually kind of like last year after you showed up, and all Shelby wanted to do was spend time with you instead. Well, now Jess is here and Shelby has come to love spending time with him which I did not see coming, by the way. So, in a way, now you're the same position I was, and I think maybe we should let her have that even if it means cancelling at the last minute. Eventually, she'll start missing you."

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she agreed which raised his eyebrows. "Shelby and I actually had a sit-down a while ago while she was over. She told me I should give Jess a chance because I didn't know him. She wouldn't tell me a whole lot, but asked to trust her. I told her I do trust her, it was him I didn't trust. But," Rachel shrugged, "I told her to be careful and to let me or you know if he says or does something she knows can get them into trouble." She was switching her gaze between him and the counter. Looking up, Rachel added, "she said you told her the same thing, so I said I would try to be a little nicer to Jess, and he does seem to be great with her."

"He is," Luke nodded. "I think Jess is the reason Shelby's been improving with Miss Kelly."

Her head jerked back. "Really? I never took your nephew to have patience to help a kid out with her speech sounds."

"Something tells me I think that's why Jess is doing it."

Rachel gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"As much as I love that kid, I have to admit, it can get frustrating at times trying to figure out what it is she's trying to say," he admitted, reaching behind him to scratch at a itch in the middle of his back.

"I can see that," she nodded in agreement. "But what about everything else, like coming to her school performance? I think I noticed Jess in pain, especially during 'It's a Small World'."

"Possibly hanging around Lorelai for way too long has taught Shelby some persuasion skills. That'll be my guess anyway."

Rachel laughed at that. "Lorelai does have some great persuasion skills I've noticed." She gave Luke a knowing look. As far as he knew, Rachel was the only one who seemed to figure out his feelings but Luke wasn't about to let her say anything out loud, to anyone.

Eventually, since it was getting late and had been sitting on that stool for a while, Rachel decided to head home. Luke assured her, next time, he wouldn't let Shelby cancel at the last minute, again.

Shelby and Jess didn't return until after dark which Shelby helped her dad finish out the night and close up. Even though Luke got a weekend with his little girl home, she wasn't technically home. There was some time, Saturday evening after closing. Even though the kid loved her cousin, his music choice, not so much. It didn't help Jess listened to his music on blast either. So Luke and Shelby had started spending their evenings, downstairs once baseball season started. After spending a year of watching cartoons with his kid, it was nice getting to share a TV pass time of his with her, as well. Even though they were stuck on uncomfortable chairs…. Well, Luke was. Shelby had took to climbing onto his lap and watching from there.

"Where's ta color?" she asked the first time.

"TVs didn't always have color, kiddo," he had explained to her.

"Oh, so tis is a old TV?"

"Yep."

"Oh."

As they watched, Luke would teach Shelby more about the game. It was a toss-up who enjoyed the bonding moment more. It was also a reminder to Luke that he had been so busy with running the diner and Liz sending the rest of Jess' stuff, he had completely forgotten to register Shelby for T-ball again. Luke had felt bad about it, too.

"I' okay, Dad," she assured him to make him feel better. "Can we go camping during my break, in'tead?"

He smirked. Ever since he made Shelby her own fishing pole for Christmas, she had been wanting to go camping so she could use it. Lorelai had teased him about it, too, telling him, "nice job giving the kid something she couldn't use right away." Luke hadn't thought about that at the time.

So they planned another one of their father-daughter camping trips for the end of Shelby's spring break like they had done last year. Thinking about it, that was probably one of the reasons Rachel wasn't fond of having their weekend called off at the last minute, since she wouldn't have Shelby the following weekend, either. But Luke did have a point that he had mentioned. It wasn't mandatory for Shelby to go to her mom's every weekend. There was others to consider, too, including other family and friends.

Speaking of family. Even though Rachel's father had cut their daughter out of his life, didn't mean her mother did as well, along with her siblings. They were still getting to know Shelby, after all. Rachel especially had a close relationship with her older sister and youngest brother. Her other brothers lived out of state but still kept in contact over the phone, so Shelby hadn't gotten a chance to meet two of her uncles, and one of those were the father of her only female cousin. They figured that their mother-daughter summer trip could be to head down to Tennessee to visit and Shelby could meet her uncle and his family. Of course, when Rachel had asked Shelby what she thought about it, all she got was a shrug.

The weekend came and went.

Monday, Shelby agreed to go spend an afternoon with her mom, but now that baseball season started, the kid wanted to go home that evening to watch the game with her dad, not wanting to miss it.

That night while the two watched together, there was a knock on the diner's door. Nudging the kid off his lap, Luke set his beer on the table beside Shelby's SunnyD water bottle-like container so he could go let Lorelai in. Once he let her in, Luke returned to his seat, letting Shelby climb back onto his leg.

"What are you two up to?" she asked.

"Watching TV," he answered, wrapping his arms around Shelby's torso.

"Wow, that's cute," Lorelai commented on the small TV. "Is it the first time it's been away from its mother?"

"It's a very good TV," Luke told her.

"Hm, black and white, coat hanger antenna, really bad reception."

"It's fine."

"Don't you have a fully grown TV, upstairs?" she questioned.

Luke glanced up at her before turning back to the game. "Yeah, well, Jess is upstairs."

"So?"

"So, when Jess is upstairs, that means the stereo is blaring and the place is a mess. Shelby and I just needed a little privacy," he explained.

"No," Shelby shook her head. "I wan-ted to watch the game wi' you," she corrected her dad.

"Sorry, my mistake," Luke replied with a smile and kissed the side of her head.

"So you two came downstairs…"

"Yes," he said.

"To sit on an uncomfortable chair in an empty diner that smells like onion rings." Lorelai was standing beside him, swinging her arms back and forth.

"Yes."

She then muttered, "Calgon take me away," before pulling a chair over to sit down.

"It was very peaceful until two minutes ago," he pointed out.

Lorelai scoffed at that. "Hey, Luke, did ya ever think you should, uh, get a bigger apartment?" she asked. His head rolled over in her direction to inform her he didn't need a bigger apartment. "That place upstairs was your father's office. You turned it into an apartment. It was never meant to be lived in."

Of course, Luke was a mule about it, stating it was fine.

"It's too small for two and a half people. It's too small for one person if they have any kind of life."

He tried to reason it away. "We'll make do. We just have to organ-"

Lorelai stopped him, shaking her head. "No, you don't need to organize. You need to move."

"I like my apartment," he continued to be a mule.

Shaking her head again, she told him, "It's not just your apartment. Shelby and Jess lives there also. Right, sweetheart?" Lorelai tilted her head, sideways to look at Shelby.

"I like the a-par-men' too," the kid answered. "I don' wan' to move again."

"But wouldn't you want your own room, sweetheart?"

"I have my own room. A' my Mom's a-par-men'," she pointed out.

Lorelai eyed the kid, suspiciously. "Are you sure? You're not just saying that because your dad's saying it?"

Shelby nodded.

Before Lorelai could continue the interrogation, Rory came in at that point which Luke told her to get her mom out of there before she drove him crazy like she usually did. She did give in and assured him, she was leaving at least.

Right before the girls left, Luke suddenly remembered he had been meaning to ask if they had found anybody to help clean their rain gutters, for Jess since he sometimes occasionally asked for some extra cash than what Luke pays him. She assured him, she'll get back to him about it once she hears from a couple others they had lined up. Finally, the diner was at the peace Luke liked, once more as father and daughter returned to watching the game.

By the last inning, Shelby had fallen asleep, curled up in his lap. Since it was apparent who will win anyway, Luke switched off the TV before standing to his feet, shifting Shelby onto his shoulder. He made sure the door was locked before heading upstairs, somehow managing to open the apartment door with his hands full. The music was still blaring, making Shelby stir a little in his arms. Carefully, he made his way through the pathway of boxes over to her bed, having to toss some stuff out of the way before laying her down.

Luke then maneuvered over to find the source of the loud music, tossing away more stuff before finding the stereo and switched it off. He wondered out loud how anyone could sleep with that racket, as if the huns were attacking or something. More clothes got tossed out of the way, eventually waking Jess. After a mini freakout that ended up waking Shelby, as well, Luke finally declared the three of them were going out and searching for a bigger apartment first thing in the morning.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Bright and early, Luke dragged Shelby and Jess all over town, looking at different apartments. While the cousins just looked around, Luke banged on pipes and measured from wall to wall with his measuring tape he brought. It ended up being a long morning with Luke doing all the talking and asking questions. He did ask them what they thought at least. No matter what the apartment looked like, Shelby kept saying each time she liked the one they were living in.

"Why? What's wrong with that one?" he asked.

Jess was the one to respond, hating the last one they were coming out of, the most. "It was pink."

"We can paint it." They stepped out onto the sidewalk, heading for the next apartment.

"You mean I can paint it," he scoffed.

"We can paint it together." Luke looked down at the newspaper in his hand.

Jess walked beside him with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Great," he replied, sarcastically. "Then we can hold hands and skip afterwards."

"Fine," Luke snapped, irritably. "Which one do you like?"

"The one before."

"The one with the two fridges?"

"No."

"The one before was the one with the two fridges." Luke returned to looking at the newspaper.

"No, the one we saw before was the one with the cat," he reminded his uncle.

Luke lifted his head to say, "I hate cats."

"Well, I don't think the cat came with the place."

"It had carpeting, so it's always gonna smell like a cat," Luke explained.

"Clean the carpet."

"Paint the pink."

There was a short pause before Jess said, "The one next to the bank."

"Too many windows."

Jess asked, confused, "What?"

"Six windows all on one side, three o'clock in the afternoon, we're sitting in an oven," he explained which Jess pointed out to get curtains. "Yeah, well, you'll have to help me put them up."

"Great, then we can hold hands and skip afterwards," Jess repeated, still in the same sarcastic manner.

"Stop saying that."

"You know what? I don't care," the boy told him, honestly. "Pick whichever one you want."

"I'm not picking by myself," Luke said, firmly

"You're the only one that wants to move," he pointed out.

"Oh, so you like living the way we do?" he questioned him.

Jess just shrugged, casually. "Fine by me," looking elsewhere.

Luke waved the paper out in front of him as he said, "No space, no privacy?"

"I got plenty of privacy," he stated towards the ground.

"Yeah, because Shelby and I are sitting downstairs in the dark, watching a two inch TV."

"Hey, Shelby's fine with it, too. You're the only one with the problem. You make the choice." They walked across the street.

Once across, Luke fully faced his nephew. "Jess, come on!"

Jess looked down at his watch. "I have to go."

Luke pointed behind him with his thumb. "We've got three more places to look at."

"I'm supposed to be at Lorelai's in twenty minutes, remember?" he reminded him of what Lorelai said over breakfast that morning. Luke didn't realize it was that time already. "I mean, if you want me to bail on her, fine."

"No, you go," Luke assured him. "Shelby and I will look at the places. Take some polaroids."

Jess had started heading in the direction of Lorelai's turning around to add, "Take a polaroid, paint a still painting, I don't care," in a sarcastic manner as he waved his arms through the air.

"Jess, come on," Luke still continued to reason with the kid as he walked away which Jess stopped to point out nobody asked him to move to Stars Hollow, but he was there, anyway and told him to pick whatever he wanted. Shelby had tried to follow after Jess, but Luke held her back by the back of her jacket. "You can't hang out with Jess, this time, Shell. He's doing work on the roof, too dangerous for you."

Shelby wrapped herself up with her arms, facing away from him.

"Shell, what is wrong? Why are you mad at me?" he asked, concerned. "Is it because we're moving to another apartment?"

Shelby didn't answer. She didn't even look at him.

"With all of Jess' stuff, we need a bigger place, kiddo," Luke tried to reason with her as well. "We can't keep watching the game downstairs like we've been doing."

The kid just kept staring elsewhere, not even giving him a glance.

"Wouldn't it be awesome to have two bedrooms all your own? That would be cool, right?" he tried to make the idea of Shelby having two rooms sound exciting. It wasn't working. Finally, Luke just had to sigh under his breath and lay down the law. When it came to decisions like this, Luke had to make it, not her. "I know you and Jess don't mind our small apartment, but we do need more space. I'm sure you're sick of me and Jess bickering about everything." Still nothing. So Luke had to leave it be and nudged her by the head, to head to the next apartment.

For the next few hours, the two of them checked out the last three apartments. One of which Luke thought didn't seem all that bad. Another one had a wood-burning fireplace that you had to pay a deposit for, while another had a parking fee that wasn't even that great of a parking spot. With Shelby being as much of a help as Jess was, Luke went in search of a payphone and called Lorelai for a second opinion. The moment she got on the phone, he started on one of his many rants, talking fast.

"You haven't found a place yet?" she asked once she could get a word in.

"And we've been looking all day."

"What about Shelby? None of them stuck out to her, either?"

"Nope, won't even look at me."

"How come?"

"I don't know. I guess she still doesn't want to move even after I changed my mind," he shrugged. Luke admitted there was one apartment that wasn't so bad. Thankful she offered to come look at it with them, he gave her the address and told her to come by now, which led into another rant.

Luke had the landlord give them another tour this time with Lorelai there. He couldn't help notice Shelby was avoiding eye contact with Lorelai as well. She barely acknowledged her when she said hi. During the tour, Luke and Lorelai got mistaken for a couple and when Luke tried to set things straight, Lorelai played along with it, making Luke turn thirteen different shades of red. To make matters worse, the landlord used the word, vibe. Luke hated that word.

Luke paced around the room, annoyed.

"Alright, break it down then. List your concerns?" Lorelai told him.

"Well," he held his hands out to the sides, "it's too big."

"It's not too big," she nodded at him. "Next?"

"I don't need two bathrooms."

"Yes, you do. Next."

"I like being on the bottom floor," he added.

"The top floor's quieter. Next."

"You know, somehow I think this would be easier if you just listed your concerns," Luke finally told her.

"Okay," she replied. Lorelai briefly thought on it for a split second before admitting she didn't have any. "I think it's great."

Luke narrowed his eyes over at her. "You do?"

"Yeah, it's light and airy." She moved closer to where he was standing. "Got good windows, but not too many so the sun bakes you in the afternoon," Luke thanked her for that part as she continued. "It's close to work, but a little closer to the school, the price seems good, you're taking the spruce. It's a two-year lease." Lorelai shrugged.

"I don't know," he moaned, stubbornly.

"Luke, you need to do this," she reminded him. "You and Jess will kill each other if you stay in that place of yours."

"Yeah, but who knows how long he's gonna be here." Luke paced across the room once he said that, catching Shelby finally perking up in attention.

"Why? Did something happen?" Lorelai asked.

"No, but you never know."

"No, you don't. But I think his mom sending his stuff is a pretty good sign."

Luke turned around to face her again. "And even if he does stay, it'll only be for another year, and then he'll go off to college or Attica, or whatever, and then it'll just me and Shelby again." Lorelai tried to step in but Luke kept going, not liking the idea of being stuck with neighbors he'd probably hate, who would cooks really strong-smelling food.

"Okay, back up here," she finally got a word in. "Yes, Jess may go off somewhere someday, but Shelby will still be here for another ten or so years and will eventually want that privacy, too, especially once she hits the teen years. She just doesn't see that now, but she will." Lorelai turned to smile over at the little was sitting over on the window bench, staring at her hands she had folded in her lap. Going over there, Lorelai kneeled in front of it, beside her. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Why are you unhappy?"

Shelby did not lift her head. Not even a glance.

Lorelai held her arms folded on her knees, holding her coat. "I know you and your Dad like it in that apartment of yours, but all three of you can't keep living like that. All of you having your own space will be good."

That time, they saw her head barely shake from side to side.

"You don't want to keep living in close quarters with a bunch of smelly guys, do ya?" she tried to add some humor to lighten the moment.

Shelby mumbled something but not even Lorelai heard it, much less Luke.

"What, sweetheart? I didn't catch that."

She said it a little louder. Luke still didn't hear it, but Lorelai heard that time.

"Your dad and Jess don't stink?" she asked, making sure that was what the little girl said. That time, Shelby nodded. "Well, that's good, I guess. Don't you want to have more room to build with your Legos? Look at this living room, here," Lorelai looked around the room they were in. "I bet you could build some pretty amazing stuff with all of this room, here. I bet you can even build the Great Wall of China from one wall to the next and drive your dad crazy over it."

Shelby's body tensed up and Luke heard her sniff in.

Lorelai noticed she was starting to tear up. "Sweetheart, why is this making you upset?" It took a few minutes for her to coax the kid into opening up and share her feelings with them. After five or six minutes, Shelby mumbled something again. It took another few tries to convince her to speak up a little more, at least enough Lorelai can hear in her ear.

"Daddy said he won' move us." She managed to finally get the words out.

Luke had to ponder on if or when he had mentioned something similar to that, asking her when he said it.

She finally looked up at him. "When I came here, on my firs' day of school. You said you don' plan on moving."

Lorelai had looked over at him as well, waiting for him to respond as he tried to remember what it was Shelby was referring to. As he continued to think, Lorelai turned back to her.

"Sweetheart, whatever your dad said, I'm sure he said it long before he knew Jess was going to live with you. He didn't know he'd get another kid," she assured her. "Plans change, and sometimes you have to change things around so everything works out. I understand you're probably tired of having to move from one place to another in such a short time. At least you'll won't be moving alone. Your dad and Jess will be going with you, that won't change. You'll just be in a new place, that's all."

"Bu' I like having Daddy and Jess close by," she tried to say, still not sounding convinced.

"They'll still be nearby. It'll be like at your mom's, they'll be just down the hall, and your dad's room will be right across from yours. It'll just be a tiny bit further away."

Shelby blurted out, softly, "I hate change." Though he was proud of the CH sound she was able to say, correctly, it made Luke let out a sigh under his breath, reminding him yet again of the stuff his kid had to go through.

"I know you do, sweetheart," Lorelai reached out and touched her arm, "but it's a part of life. We all have to deal with it in some way or another. That includes your dad, too." She looked over at him, hoping to get his agreement on this. He let out another sigh under his breath before coming over, kneeling on Shelby's opposite side.

"She's right, kiddo," he managed to say. "Whether we like it or not, we have to accept when things don't go the way we hoped. I never thought I'd be a dad," Luke quickly added, "but here you are." He smiled for her. "Maybe it won't be so bad here. So, what do ya say?"

There was some silence as Shelby stared back at him, nervously.

"I'll try it if you will."

Finally, she nodded. Shelby still looked a little hesitant, but she agreed anyway.

"What's the worse that can happen, right?"

She just shrugged.

So, the agreement was made. Luke went ahead and filled out the application. Though, he probably shouldn't have said that. Usually when someone asks, what's the worse that can happen, the worse thing usually happens. Though, he probably would have settled for the strong-smelling food cooks he'd come to hate when Luke found out who owned the building.

With all the running around they did that day, Shelby fell asleep on his shoulder, on the walk back to the diner. Asking Caesar to keep an eye on things a little bit longer, including Shelby, Luke stopped at Doose's to pick up a few things when Taylor approached him, asking about the application he had filled out.

It turned out, out of all the apartment buildings they looked at that day, the one that ended up being picked was owned by Taylor, the guy Luke despised the most. Seriously, what were the odds of that happening? After a heated argument, Luke abandoned his groceries there, needing to get out of there as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Taylor followed.

To make matters worse, the guy even had plans to buy the flower shop next to the diner and turn it into a collectible-plate store, having a complaint against his father's hardware store sign Luke still had up. Suddenly, the air got thick and as heated as the sun as Luke went into a blind rage, wanting to punch Taylor which he warned him to get out of arm-swinging length. Eventually, Taylor did, tossing Luke's application in the trash.

He couldn't believe this. How, out of all places, did Luke end up picking the one that was owned by Taylor? There was no way he was living in that building. Luke paced up and down the street, going completely out of his mind as Lorelai's voice spun around inside his head. How does he let himself get talked into these things? Then it hit him…. Holy crap, he was even talked into convincing Shelby to agree to this. They had just gotten the kid to sleep over at her mom's, and now they were already trying to do the same with him? That was a lot of transition in a short period of time for one small child.

Wait? Was this a good thing? Couldn't there be a way to make this situation better. In his blind rage, Luke found himself buying a chocolate-covered belgian waffle. Of course, when he realized it, he threw it away. Luke wasn't suicidal, after all. But the craziness didn't stop there, though. As soon as he threw the waffle away, Luke found himself walking inside the bank and getting a cashier's check to buy the building from Taylor. He was beyond furious, now and stormed his way to Lorelai's house, catching Jess leaving just as he was walking up. Ignoring him for now, Luke made his way up to the front door and rapped on the front door with some force to it.

As soon as she opened the door, Luke exploded, "I just spent a hundred, thousand dollars and it's all your fault!" as he pointed at her using both hands before storming inside. Luke then explained about running into Taylor and finding out he's been buying up the town right from underneath them, going into another rant as he paced around her kitchen. Luke barely had time to breathe.

Lorelai tried to offer if he'd liked to sit down, but Luke just kept going, still pacing back and forth. Finally, she was able to get a word in and give him some options of fixing the mess he dug himself into before offering him some tea.

Luke was finally able to breathe and relax, taking a seat at the table while Lorelai turned on the stove. When things were quiet, Lorelai changed the subject, asking if Jess ever talked to him about Rory. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged, grabbing the tea from one of the upper cupboards. "They seem to be thrown together quite a lot, lately, and I was just trying to figure out if that's a coincidence or…"

"Or if there's something going on?" Luke finished for her.

"Yeah."

He looked back, behind him, shaking his head. "I don't know. Jess doesn't exactly confide in me."

"Right," she nodded.

"There's a possibility Shelby might know something as they seem more close than I am," he shrugged, thinking about the time he overheard Jess trying to get Shelby to confide in him when he had scared her. Though, really, Luke highly doubted a seventeen, almost eighteen year-old would confide in a six, almost seven-year-old. He did like the idea that both girls were having an effect on Jess. "Of course, if there was something going on, I think that would be really great."

Lorelai looked at him in surprise. "You do?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Rory's a great kid. She'd be really good for Jess."

"Oh, yeah, she would," she agreed but didn't sound too sure of herself.

"You really think there might be something going on?" Luke questioned. First Shelby's crush, now there might be something between Jess and Rory? What, was Cupid running amuk in Stars Hollow or something?

"Well," Lorelai started to say, but then shook her head and said she didn't know.

Luke had to admit though, that would be great. If Shelby could get through to Jess, imagine what Rory could do. After all, Rory was a big help with Shelby. Lorelai seemed to be second-guessing it, but Luke had some hope.

Once he was all calm and relaxed again, as well as clear-headed, Luke was able to think things through. This probably wasn't the best option, but it was a step further and would provide him, Shelby, and Jess, the space they needed.

Later that evening, Luke returned home, heading straight for the closet where he grabbed a sledgehammer he kept in there. Shelby was awake, listening to Jess read a chapter of _Tom Sawyer_. Jess stopped reading and the two of them watched him head for the closet. When Luke had the sledgehammer in hand, he walked to the other side of the room. They quickly followed, probably wondering what the heck he was going to do.

Standing in front of a bare part of the wall, Luke took it in both hands and swung it against the wall, smashing a hole into it. Both Shelby and Jess flinched as the giant hammer made contact, with Shelby ducking behind Jess.

"That's your room," he told Jess before handing him the hammer. "Finish up. We'll hold hands and skip, afterwards." Luke then turned and left, leaving both kids baffled at what just happened.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Even though they weren't moving after all, Luke still had to disappoint his little buddy by postponing their camping trip.

"I promise, as soon as the construction is finished, we'll go camping," he assured her.

Shelby was still devastated. "I know, kiddo. I was looking forward to it, too," he said when she gave him the most heart-wrenching, pitiful look that could melt stone.

To make matters worse, with construction going on, on the apartment, Shelby couldn't be around there, not even in the diner. Luke felt it was too dangerous for her with plaster falling and loose nails, along with other things construction sites usually had. So he had a discussion with Rachel about it and she was thrilled to keep Shelby during the whole process. Luke thought it would just be a week, but with Tom, one never knows. That meant the camping trip kept getting pushed to the following weekend. As much as she liked going with her mom, after the first week, she missed her dad too much.

Luke tried to find as much time to either call her or see her, even picking Shelby up from school a few times, as well as, taking Shelby out for father/daughter dates at Buddy and Maisy's restaurant.

Every now and then Shelby still hung out with Jess, who would swing by to get her in the mornings or afternoons.

"He asked if Shelby could come out and play," Rachel told Luke when he came to pick her up, one afternoon.

"Yeah, Jess is funny like that," he said, knowing his nephew and his sarcastic jokes. Luke had told her unless there was legitimate reasons Shelby couldn't, Rachel couldn't deny the cousins hanging out together, so she assured the boy, Shelby could go with him.

"I told him to have her back before dark, though."

"Did he?" Luke asked.

"Let's just say, it wasn't completely dark." Of course Jess would test that limit.

Luke shrugged, "Hey, it sounds like you didn't specify. Did you?"

Rachel stared at him. But she couldn't deny Luke had a point.

Shelby had dashed over at that point which Luke scooped her up.

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted as Shelby hugged his neck.

She pulled away to ask, "Can I come home today?"

"Not yet, but I promise, soon. Okay?"

She nodded, a little disappointed.

"Trust me, I'm gonna owe ya big time." He smiled for her to help cheer Shelby up.

"Okay."

"Hey, can I get a kiss, good-bye?" Rachel asked of the kid.

Shelby leaned over to kiss her mom on the cheek. "Bye, Mom," she waved afterwards.

Rachel had returned the kiss before Shelby pulled away. "Bye, Peanut," she waved back and exchanged, "see ya"s with Luke before Luke and Shelby left.

Even though Shelby didn't get to play T-ball again, Luke still managed to fit playing catch into his busy life. Even with the short amount of times they got to play catch, Shelby still continued to improve and it always put a smile on both their faces.

"Atta, girl," he called as he caught the ball Shelby had thrown and threw it back for her to catch. Shelby had to reach out to the side to catch it. Even when he had to disappoint his buddy, somehow someway Luke always made sure to make it up to her and Shelby understood that even when construction got put on hold for Uncle Louie's funeral that Luke had to take care of per his own father's wishes.

The guy spent a lot of time on the phone, trying to get his uncle shipped down there, plus make the arrangements and contact his relatives Luke hardly talked to. Trying to think on the positive side which was not an easy task for him, Shelby would be able to meet more of the family. Luke even made sure to include that when he called everyone. Not even getting to meet his kid was a selling point to come to the funeral. They all had some kind of excuse. In all honesty, it was probably for the best if Shelby was sheltered from his weird side of the family, especially slightly disturbed Cousin Frannie and her bird. Lorelai was disturbed just hearing Luke talk about the bird alone.

"My family's disturbing," he mumbled as Luke sat down across from her.

"I'm so sorry," she told him, sincerely, shaking her head.

Luke let out a breath as he dropped his head. "This is wrong," he stated. "This is not how it's done. A family member dies, you pay your respects, period."

"Look at it this way, if they don't want to be there, you don't want them there."

"My dad wanted them to be there," Luke pointed out.

"I know. But, hey, Louie lived in Stars Hollow most of his life, so a lot of people will be there, right?" she tried to cheer him up.

"Right," he replied, softly, glancing up at her.

"I know it's upsetting," Lorelai continued, "but maybe it's better this way."

"Yeah, I guess," Luke shrugged and felt the need to add, "I really hate that bird." At that point, Rory came up to let her mom know Jackson was there, needing to talk to her and that he was upset. Making sure Luke was alright first, Lorelai went to see why Jackson was upset.

"Hey, Luke, where's Jess?" Rory asked when she was gone.

"I think he took Shelby on a walk or something," Luke told her, motioning with his head.

Rory scoffed at that. "That little punk," she said before heading back downstairs. His eyebrows arched as Luke watched her leave, wondering what that was all about.

Later that evening, before Luke took Shelby back to her mom's, they went to the town's weekly meeting. To his surprise, Jess wanted to come along, as well.

"Shelby convinced you come to this, too?" he questioned the boy, and stared down at Shelby, who was walking in between them.

"I did-n tell him to come," Shelby replied, shaking her head.

"Well, Corky's Country Cavalcade on public access was pre-empted, so I thought I'd check out the next best thing," Jess answered, with a hint of sarcasm.

Luke just accepted that answer and moved on. The only reason he was going was because he was unsuccessful at getting any of the civil war reenactors on the phone to confirm they were coming to the funeral. So once the meeting was adjourned, Luke hurried after to catch up with them, leaving Shelby with Jess for now. Come find out, they didn't want to come to the funeral either, stating nobody liked his uncle.

"He always had a scowl on his face, not a kind word for anybody," said Taylor. "He would light those hideous cigars, blow smoke in people's faces, and then spit after each puff."

Not even Kirk wanted to come, stating the guy had kicked his dog and wasn't the same way afterwards.

"This is an exaggeration," said Luke, not wanting to admit they were right about his uncle.

"We're not exaggerating," one guy told him. "We threw a big party when he left town!"

"I made love to my wife that night like I never have," another guy said.

"My Toto barked a happy bark, then quietly stopped breathing," Kirk said, which he added the dog was old.

Luke threw up his arms in disgust. "I don't believe this."

"Come on, Luke," said Andrew. "You knew the guy."

"This man was my uncle, okay?" he pointed out. "And a war veteran. He deserves a veteran's funeral. But hey, if you guys are too lazy to show up, then…"

"He's the lazy one," Taylor interrupted. "Never once did he participate in a town function. In fact, when we reenactors gathered, he'd throw things at us."

"And not soft things," one of the guys pointed out. "Hard things."

"Rocks and small tools."

"Okay," Luke threw up his hands again. "I've heard enough."

But they just continued. "And he got meaner as he got older. Never married, never had kids."

"A real loner."

"To hell with you guys! Who needs you?!" Luke yelled at them, fully enraged by this point. He started to walk away before coming back to add, "I just might throw rocks and small tools at ya, myself next time I see ya."

Taylor pointed out, "A defensive hothead just like Louie."

"Practically clones."

Luke just kept walking away, not bothering to look back. He was beyond pissed at this point. He couldn't believe how heartless and disrespectful everyone was being. Even with the anger building up inside of him, Luke couldn't help think about what they were saying.

Walking up towards the diner, he stopped to take a deep breath before heading inside. Shelby was helping Jess clean up. He wasn't sure how she knew, but the kid had bounded over to him, to hug him around the legs.

"Your the bes', Dad."

"Yeah?" he smiled down at her. "Why's that?"

Looking up at him, she shrugged. "You look sad, so I wan-ted to make you feel be'-ter."

Luke continued to smile at her. "Thanks, kiddo." When he had shared with her about his uncle's passing, Shelby had asked why she never got to meet him and if Louie was anything like his dad. All Luke had told her was that Louie lived down in Florida and liked being alone. As for the similarities between brothers, he didn't really know what to say. They were different, that was for sure, but Luke wasn't sure if he should share with Shelby, she was related to another mean, old man on his side, as well.

Shelby fell asleep on the way to Rachel's, so Luke had to carry her up to the apartment and lay her down in her bed, covering Shelby up with her camouflage comforter and kissed the side of her forehead. Afterwards, Rachel walked him to the door.

"Sorry again about dropping her off so late. I had to talk to the guys about my uncle's funeral," he explained to her.

"It's alright," she assured him.

"So, hey, you coming?" Luke asked, hopeful someone was willing to do the right thing.

Rachel just looked at him like he was crazy. "Uh, no, I don't think so," she told him.

"Why not? You knew him."

"Luke, the guy made my dad seem like Santa Claus," she pointed out. "There is absolutely no possible scenario where I would even think of going to that awful man's funeral."

He turned away, taking another deep breath.

"No offense, Luke, but your uncle was a jerk."

Not wanting to hear any more remarks about his uncle, Luke stormed towards the door, opening it. He turned back long enough to tell her, "I'm picking Shelby up from school, early for the funeral, so you won't have to."

When Rachel heard he was bringing Shelby along, she tried to protest. "Come on, Luke. Don't make Shelby go to your uncle's funeral, either."

"Why not? He was her great uncle and I want to teach my kid you do these things for family, no matter what."

"Does Shelby know what kind of man he was?"

Luke paused before he said, "That's not the point. It's the right thing to do and that's what I want her know." With that said, Luke left the apartment.

The next day, Luke had to make sure his uncle had everything he wanted to be buried with, inside the coffin with him. The list ended up being so long that the lid wouldn't even close all the way. The football signed by Johnny Unitas gave it a nice bounce when anyone pushed down on it. At the point of losing his mind once again, he called Lorelai to come help. Even she ran out of ideas. So that said, Luke didn't even care if they just dumped the casket into a random hole, regardless if everything fell out.

He ended up walking around Hartford, trying to clear his head before finding a yellow pages, to search for a big and tall casket shop. Once they moved his uncle and all of his stuff over and tested to see if the lid would close this time, it finally did. Luke was finally relieved to see something work and could relax. That is until he looked at the time and realized it was past the time he said he was going to pick Shelby up from school.

"Hey, sorry I was later than I said I'd be," he told her when they were inside the truck.

Shelby was fastening her seatbelt. "Wha' happened?" she asked, curious.

"Uh, well, there was a little bit of a problem with the size of Uncle Louie's casket." Since it was earlier than he normally was there, Luke didn't have to deal with traffic. "Do anything fun or learn something new today?"

"We learned all abou' frogs," she said.

Luke nodded at the road, ahead. "Frogs, huh."

"They eat flies by catching tem wi' tear tongue."

"Sounds," he paused, a little grossed out, "interesting."

"And tey look like fish when tey are babies," she added. "Dad."

"Yeah?"

"Can I have a pe' frog?"

Luke glanced over at his kid before responding with a quick, "No."

"Why?"

"Pets are a lot of work, kiddo," he explained, hoping to talk her out of it. "You have to feed it, and take care of it, make sure its tank is clean. Plus, who will take care of it when you go to your mom's or your friends' house?"

"Um...you?" she said, also hopeful.

"That would be a negative, Shell."

"Why?"

"Because I have the diner. I wouldn't have time to give it any care. No," Luke shook his head. "No pets, kiddo."

"Wha' if I keep i' a' Mom's a-par-men'?" she asked.

"That would be up to your mom since it's her home."

"Bu' if she says yes, I can have one?"

Luke let out a sigh under his breath. "Doesn't frogs cause warts?" he pointed out, not really liking the idea of his kid owning a pet frog.

"Wha's ta?" she asked.

"A bump that can only be removed by a doctor."

Her eyes enlarged at the sound of that. Shelby quickly shook her head. "Never mind. I don' wan' a frog anymore." Thinking back to her last doctor's appointment he took her to, Luke remembered Shelby hated doctors.

Luke couldn't help smile, not only because he was glad he was successful at talking Shelby out of wanting a frog, but the kid was just too darn cute.

They got back to the diner where Lorelai and Rory were still filling in for him which he thanked them for, promising it would be the last time. Luke then explained what had happened after storming out of there and that he was able to get everything sorted out.

"I still don't know why I'm doing this," he admitted afterwards.

"You're doing this for your dad," Lorelai reminded him.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, rolling his head away. "Although, he's dead, so he'd never know if I was doing it any different."

"He knows," she said. "He's got the big Luke picture screen on, twenty-four hours, and he watches and smiles." Lorelai smiled as she added, "and you're doing it 'cause you're you."

Luke couldn't help smile just a little. He told her he would change so Lorelai could retire from her diner career forever. She assured him she was enjoying it and told him one more dish she made up. "Why would anyone order that?" he questioned at the disgusting sounding dish.

"If they're high," she pointed out right before spotting her mother walk in. Lorelai made a disgusted sound, herself. "Good grief."

"What?" he asked, seeing what she was looking at.

"Bad vibe sandwich just came in. You better retreat."

"I won't be long," he assured her before heading upstairs, quickly letting her know Shelby's supposed to be starting on her homework. Luke headed upstairs to change so he could take over from there. He quickly changed into his more casual attire, finishing up as he made his way back down the stairs just as Lorelai and her mom were finishing up. Stating she'd probably see him again real soon, Emily left, leaving Luke wondering what it was he missed.

At the last moment, Emily turned back to ask Luke, "What do you think of the Romanovs?"

Luke was pulling his sleeves up as he replied, "They probably had it coming."

The older woman just rolled her eyes as she turned around to leave, muttering out loud, "A match made in heaven." Luke gave Lorelai a clueless look, who just smiled back at him.

Later that afternoon, Luke closed down the diner to start getting him and Shelby ready. He had gotten her a black collared shirt along with black pants just for the occasion, making sure she had a bath first, and made sure to brush her hair out.

Letting Jess nap, the two headed downstairs and towards the church where the service was being held. The only other one to show was Lorelai. After the service, they moved out to the cemetery where Louie was laid to rest.

"It was a nice service," said Lorelai. "Nice and, um…" She paused for a moment. "Intimate."

"I guess everybody deserves something at the end," he replied, staring down at the casket. After a short pause, Luke thanked her for coming.

She looked up at him, shaking her head. "I wouldn't have missed it."

They shared a look before looking back at the casket once more. Luke even nudged Shelby with his knee, thanking her for not giving him any grief this time about having to dress up. The kid gave him a sweet smile. It was refreshing not having to fight on what she had to wear. Shelby then motioned for his ear which he lowered his head so she could whisper to him.

"Nobody sang for Uncle Louie."

"What do you mean, kiddo?"

"Somebody's supposed to sing. Um…" Shelby hesitated on her thought.

"What, kiddo?" he encouraged her, unsure what it was the kid was referring to.

"Can I?"

"Can you, what?"

"Um...sing for Uncle Louie?" she finally managed to ask. Right as the words were able to come out, they were interrupted by a drum off in the distance.

Standing up, Luke peered across the field, on the other side of the cemetery. "Is that Andrew?"

"I believe it is," Lorelai was the one to respond.

The rest of the civil war reenactors appeared, doing their thing. He couldn't believe it. They actually came. Of course, Luke could guess who it was who got the guys to come, thanking Lorelai for it before he asked, "That ain't me, is it?"

Lorelai looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"What Taylor was saying about me being like Louie." He shrugged, "a loner, never being married and stuff. I'm getting crankier as I get older. He's not so far off."

"You are not your uncle," she told him, firmly. "I mean," Lorelai paused as she shrugged. "Would Louie ever...build someone a chuppah or help fix things around someone's house without being asked, or make a special coffee cake with balloons for a girl's sixteenth birthday?"

He looked at her at that. "Rory told ya about that?"

"Yes." Lorelai looked straight ahead at nothing. "And would Louie have taken in his sister's kid without hesitating, or asking for anything in return, or even taken in his own kid when he found out she existed?"

"No one would have trusted Louie with their kids," he said. "He probably would have forgotten to feed them, even if they were his."

"You get my point."

Luke sighed as he said, "Yeah, I get it." He looked over as the men continued, stating Louie would have hated it.

Lorelai hooked her arm into his. "That's just a fringe benefit."

He thanked her once again as she reminded him, "It's what your dad wanted."

As soon as Kirk started blowing on his trumpet, Shelby's fingers went right in her ears, her face crumpled up at the horribly played sound sounding through the air. As soon as it was finally over, Luke kneeled back to her level.

"What were you saying about singing, Shell?" he asked.

"I wan-ted to sing ta' song you sing in church, you also sing a' tese tings," she explained.

"Well, uh, if that's what you want to do, go for it," he told her, encouragingly. Luke still had no clue what his daughter was referring to, but if that was her request. At least she didn't want to stomp on the guy's grave like some did.

It took a minute or two for the kid to work up the courage to go through with it, but Shelby was able to start singing. It was soft and barely heard, but Luke was proud for the effort, making out the words to _Amazing Grace_. He remained kneeled by her side the whole time as she sang. Louie would have definitely hated this, but that only made it even more great.

Lorelai kneeled on the kid's other side to be able to hear better. Having both of them there even helped Shelby sing a little louder. It still wasn't a normal tone, but it was still progress. In fact, the kid was always surprising them every day with fresh progress. The adults listened as Shelby continued, staring down inside the hole where Louie laid. Who knew the man ended up helping for something good, after all. If William could see this, Luke was sure he'd be grinning from ear to ear, proudly looking down at this.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

April came and went, and May was upon them, which meant summer vacation was right around the corner. Luke was glad Shelby would be finishing first grade and moving onto second. In fact, he couldn't believe he would soon have a second grader. Just a year ago, she was just a kindergartener. Where did the time go, and why did it move so fast? At least one of his charges would be moving on, anyway. Though, Shelby was doing really well in school, Jess, not so much. It was odd though. The kid put effort into helping his little cousin with school, but could care less of his own schooling. Luke tried to talk with Jess about the fact he was facing the possibility of having to repeat the eleventh grade over again, but Jess really seemed to not care. So with much thought and consideration as possible, Luke decided to get some help from the only person that had a better chance than he could. Rory.

Since he needed a way to get rid of a batch of brownies he had destroyed by pouring in too much cocoa powder, he figured the Gilmores would eat them since it would be a waste of food anyway. Shelby tried asking for a piece on their way there, but Luke denied her request, trying to steel himself from giving into her puppy dog look. Besides, even though the kid loved sweets, at least Shelby had a limit and he knew the amount of cocoa in them would be too much for her. Of course, Lorelai ended up letting her try some while he was in, talking with Rory about tutoring Jess.

On the way out, Shelby told her dad, "I promise to lis-ten, nex' time, Dad."

Luke just chuckled at that. "Okay," he replied and grabbed onto her head once they were completely down the front steps.

Lorelai ended up following after them, calling out for Luke.

"Um, listen," she said, coming over. "About Rory doing this tutoring thing…"

"I really appreciate it, by the way," he said.

"I know you do," she assured him. "Just...Rory's so sweet and she would never say no to anybody 'cause she loves to help. I'm not so sure if it's the best idea."

Luke looked at her, confused. "Why not?"

"Well, she's got her own studies to worry about."

"I know, and I promise this isn't gonna take up all of her time," he assured her. "It's just for a little while."

"Yes, but…" she tried to input but Luke continued.

"Plus, Rory's pretty serious about school. I don't think she wouldn't say yes if she didn't have the time."

"I know, Rory's a great student, but she's just a kid. Don't you need like a professional tutor to help with Jess? Somebody with a degree and a pipe and one of those coats with the elbow patches on it?"

"I need someone Jess is gonna listen to. Someone he's gonna…" Luke paused trying to search his head for the right words. "I don't know...look up to. That sure isn't me, and that sure isn't some tutor. He likes Rory, and Rory's on the path I'd like to see Jess on, school and college. He needs somebody he respects, doing what he should be doing, and Rory's the only person I can think of who fits that description."

"Yeah, but you don't know for sure if he'll listen to Rory," Lorelai pointed out with a shrug.

"No, but I gotta do something. I mean, what would you do if you were me?"

"Uh," she looked away in thought before giving in. "Okay, just make sure it's not too much time, okay?"

Luke looked away at the ground. He glanced up at her, assuring he will. "Besides, if a six-year-old has the power over him, Rory should be able to convince him, right?"

"Right," she replied, but didn't sound one hundred percent sure.

Turning around, he noticed Shelby had taken to playing some sort of fighting game which she told him she was Wonder Woman fighting bad guys when he asked. Something he knew was a childhood favorite of Rachel's, whom she had shared with the kid while Shelby was staying with her. The kid had been so thrilled to learn there was a female superhero, and was reading through the old comic books Rachel had collected over a period of time. Now, whenever Shelby played superheroes with her friends, she always chose to be Wonder Woman.

Hating having to interrupt her play, Luke told her they were leaving and told Lorelai to enjoy the brownie she had in her hand before they left.

Both Lorelai and Rory came by the diner for dinner that evening, so Shelby had someone to eat with. Lorelai couldn't believe a kid willingly, and happily, ate vegetables as she watched Shelby dip her broccoli in cheese sauce. Once Lorelai left so the teens could study, Luke told Shelby she either had to work or go back to her mom's, but not bother them. Not wanting to leave yet, Shelby chose work. At the end of the night when Luke closed up, she helped him clean and put everything away for the next day, working around Rory and Jess. Afterwards, he took her back to Rachel's.

"When am I gonna be able to come home?" she asked on the drive there.

Luke thought about it. The work on the apartment was pretty much done already, the crew just finished a few days ago. "How about this weekend?" he asked.

Shelby nodded, eagerly.

"I'll get everything organized and make sure the floor's swept and everything, and you can finally come home. Deal?"

"Deal." Besides, Luke really wanted his little buddy home already. Things haven't been the same the past month without her.

Luke reluctantly dropped Shelby off, receiving a hug and kiss, good night. Before he left, she wanted him to tuck her in, letting Rachel do her part first as Shelby said her bedtime prayers. Even though the kid didn't believe in Santa Claus or the Easter bunny, he was glad she believed in something. To be honest, he was still skeptical about a higher being himself, but if Shelby thought He was real, Luke wasn't about to crush any more dreams that seem to be left.

Once they finished, he went over to lean over his little buddy, kissing her good night once again. "Love ya, kiddo," he smiled.

Shelby smiled up at him, her arms around all three of her stuffed animals. "Love you too, Dad." He leaned in, letting his forehead touch hers. "Your the best."

"So are you," he told her. With one last good night, the parents left the room, leaving the door open, ajar.

Exchanging good nights between the two of them, Luke left, heading back to the diner, finding Rory and Jess gone. Their books and everything were still out on the table, but Rory's car was gone. Shortly after he got back, Lorelai knocked on the diner's door, looking frantic, and asking where Jess was. She then rushed upstairs without telling him, anything, calling out for Jess. Finally, Luke got her to tell him there had been an accident, only stopping long enough to tell him, Jess had been driving Rory's car when they crashed and Rory had fractured her wrist.

"Look, I'm sure it was an accident. Accidents happen," he tried to assure her.

Lorelai was not in a reasoning state. "Not with my kid in the car, they don't," she stated and started to leave.

"Okay, you just need to calm down," Luke tried to tell her.

Suddenly, she stepped back, getting in his face as she demanded, "Why did you do this?"

"What are you talking about? Why did I do what?" he asked.

"Why did you bring him here?"

He quickly asked, "What?"

Raising her voice, she told him, "If you hadn't of brought him here, none of this would have happened."

"This is my fault?"

"Yes, this is your fault! You told him to come. You let him stay. Everybody hated him. Everybody knew he was trouble. But you wouldn't listen and you wouldn't send him home. And now my daughter is in the hospital!"

Luke just stared at her. He couldn't believe he was being blamed for this. So apparently not even Lorelai believed him when he said Jess was a completely different person with Shelby, that the kid, and possibly Rory, was actually having an effect on him for the good? Well, it didn't matter. Luke was glad they knew Rory was alright aside from her broken wrist, but _he_ needed to make sure _his_ nephew was all right and not hurt somewhere.

Without a word, Luke stormed around Lorelai and out of the diner, in search of Jess.

Lorelai followed after him, continuing her rant. "You kept pushing them together. You asked her to help him study. You knew she'd never say no. I told you it made me nervous. I told you I didn't like it and I should have stopped it right there. But you thought Rory would be good for Jess, never mind what he'd be to her. That wasn't important at all. Was it?" They were crossing the street as she stormed after him.

Luke was watching the ground, her words not really helping his anxiety, worrying whether or not Jess was fine or not. "Of course it was important," he managed to reply.

"Why didn't you put a stop to it at the first sign of trouble?" she questioned of him. "Why didn't you make him leave?"

"He's my nephew, I had an obligation to take him in. I had an obligation to care for him," he told her, raising his voice a little.

"You had an obligation to this town and to me and to Rory," Lorelai argued. "Not to mention Shelby. Everyone knows he's the reason she got into that fight at school that got her suspended. Wonder what else he's been teaching her. God, Luke, how could you be clueless thinking a little kid could have an impact on a guy like Jess?"

That had done it, but Luke tried his best to keep a lid on it, not wanting to explode on her.

Finally she asked, "Where are you going?"

"I have to find out where Jess is," he said as calmly as he could.

Lorelai scoffed. "I'll tell you where he's not. He's not in the emergency room having his arm plastered up."

Having had enough of her remarks, Luke turned on his heel to face her. "Hey! I am sorry about Rory. You know I care more about her than I do myself," he pointed to himself. "But at least you know where Rory is. And at least you know she's okay. Now I have to find Jess and I have to make sure he's okay, and if that cuts into your screaming time, then that's just too damn bad!"

"Go to hell!"

"Right back at ya!" Luke then turned right back around and moved on, not looking back. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a tow truck pulling along what looked to be Rory's car, smashed up in the front. Luke tried not to look at it, not wanting to think the worse that could've happened. Instead, he focused on locating Jess.

Lorelai had stopped following him once he had snapped. The guilt he felt not only from what he had said to her, but of the accident itself. Luke really did hope things would be different, that he really could help his nephew. After all, he was doing so well with Shelby. Why couldn't he help his nephew? And the kid was family, Luke knew he couldn't deny the kid when he needed help. But Lorelai's words kept stinging him over and over with its painful venom. It _was_ his fault.

Wait! Shelby! Rushing to the nearest pay phone, he dialed Rachel's number. Thankfully, she was still up. She barely said, hello when Luke told her to put Shelby on the phone.

"Luke?"

"I need to ask Shelby something." The urgency alone was enough to make her sound worried.

"Luke, she's sleeping, remember? What's going on?"

"Just wake her up. Normally, I wouldn't do this, but she's the only other person who may know where Jess might be. Please, just do it. No questioning it, right now."

"Um, okay." There was a long pause before he heard Rachel go in and wake Shelby, telling her, her dad was on the phone. It took a minute for Shelby to wake up enough to talk to him.

"Shell, I need you to tell me where that secret spot of Jess' is," he told her, some urgency still in his tone, but not enough to make her worry as well.

"I can', i's a secre'," she reminded him.

"I know, kiddo, but I have to know. You know I don't make you tell your secrets if you don't want to. I promise this will be the only time. Okay?"

"Okay," she sounded reluctant, but told him anyway. "I's a' ta lake. On ta bridge."

Luke blew a sigh of relief. "Thanks, kiddo. Love ya." He didn't let her respond though, hanging up before hurrying in the direction of the lake. Sure enough there he was. Jess was sitting on the bridge, near where Luke had pushed him in.

Luke made his way over, glad to see the boy was alright.

Blowing out a puff of cigarette smoke, Jess said, softly, "I made sure she was okay." If Luke didn't know any better, he swore he heard his voice crack.

"I know you did," he assured him and sat down right next to him. The two sat in silence for a while until Luke finally asked for Jess' side of the story. Jess told his uncle about convincing Rory to go get ice cream and how some kind of animal had jumped out in front of them, causing Jess to swerve, to avoid hitting it. Instead of hitting the animal, he drove into a bench, crashing into it. The impact caused Rory to hit her arm on the dash. He then explained he had been the one to call for an ambulance, and told the police everything that had happened even though he wasn't really a fan of being around cops. Once he made sure Rory would be taken care of, Jess booked it out of there to be alone.

"I want to go home," he finally said after another moment of silence.

Luke looked at him at that. He wanted to object to it, but thought it best if he just went along with his wishes. So they headed back to the diner to grab some of his stuff while Luke called his sister to let her know what happened and that he was sending him back home.

Before Jess stepped onto the bus, he turned around to add one last thought. "Tell Scout…" he paused for a few seconds. Jess seemed to be hesitating on his words. "...see ya."

"I will."

They exchanged one last look before Jess climbed on the bus. Luke watched even after the doors closed and continued as the bus drove on down the road. He then let out a huge breath of air. As the bus rounded the corner, Luke dropped his gaze towards the ground, staring at it for a minute. He felt his eyes close as he felt his chest tighten. How could things change so fast?

What made things hurt so much more for the guy was when the thought crossed his mind: how was Shelby gonna react to this?

As he neared the diner, Luke now felt so broken. Suddenly, he sprang towards his truck and jumped in, heading back to Rachel's. Not even caring he was double parked, Luke hurried inside, pushing the button for the elevator a dozen times until it finally came down.

As soon as it reached her floor, Luke immediately stepped out and raced down the hall towards Rachel's apartment, finding himself pounding on the door. A lot of time had passed since he called, so this time, Rachel had gone to bed. He stopped once he heard the door being unlocked, twice.

She was still waking up when the door opened. "Luke? What the heck's going on tonight?" she asked, rubbing at her eyes.

"I need Shelby home, tonight."

"What…?" she shook her head, trying to fully wake up. "Luke, it's the middle of the night."

"I don't care. I can carry her home," he said, not really wanting to argue at this point.

"Luke, what's going on?"

Luke took another deep breath. "There's been an accident. Both of them are fine. Car's totalled but they're fine."

That woke her up. "Accident? With who?"

"Jess and Rory." He then quickly explained, giving her a brief summary of the events.

"Oh my God...and you're sure Rory's okay?"

"Aside from the fractured wrist, yeah, she will be." She sounded relieved Rory was fine, but then saw her drop her face into her hands at that moment.

"I knew it. Luke," she began when Rachel lifted her head towards him.

"Please don't. I'm not in the mood for any more…."

She blurted out, "What if that had been Shelby?"

"Rachel, come on. Don't do this, too," he tried to reason with her.

"I knew something would happen, but I never suspected it too be this bad. How could you let a kid like your nephew be around our daughter, Luke? He had no respect for you, or for me, or for anyone in this town. He was constantly getting into trouble, he got Shelby suspended from school."

Luke finally snapped once again. "You know what?! I didn't come here to be yelled at again! I just want my kid!"

That silenced the woman.

Lowering his voice, he told her, "He's gone, okay? I sent Jess back to his mother. Happy?"

Rachel didn't respond. She took a couple breaths, looking a little relieved again, but not a word was said. There was a short pause before someone else broke the silence.

"Jess is gone?"

Luke and Rachel turned their heads to see Shelby standing a few feet away. The look the kid held would come to forever haunt Luke for a long time. It broke his already hurting heart as tears started to appear.

Kneeling to her level, he held his arms out as he said, "Come here, kiddo," softly. Thankfully, Shelby came to him, dashing right over. She then buried her face into his shoulder. Luke squeezed her in a tight embrace, eventually switching his hand to the back of her head, as he brushed it along her hair. Then realization kicked in. As he held his little buddy, Luke heard muffled cries from his shoulder. Before tonight, no matter if they were alone or not, Shelby had always cried silently to herself. Hearing her cry out loud was the final straw as he felt a lone tear fall down his own face. Her little heart was as he feared and tried so hard to protect: shattered.

"I know, kiddo. I know," he managed to choke out and continued to hold her tightly in his arms.

Luke carried Shelby upstairs. "Which bed, kiddo?" he asked.

Clutching all three stuffed animals to her in one arm, she pointed over at his bed. He moved over and laid her down, assuring her he was just going to change in the bathroom and would be right back. Once he returned, Luke slid in beside her which Shelby immediately snuggled up to him. It took several minutes until he was able to get her to fall back to sleep, rubbing her stomach in soothing circles while singing their song of George Strait's over and over, only, their version.

Shelby had finally asked on the way home why Jess had gone back to his mom's. It took all Luke had left to explain as best he could what happened earlier that night. She asked if both him and Rory were okay, which he told her they were both fine, but that Rory had fractured her wrist.

"Jess is just shaken up about it, kiddo. I'm sure he didn't want to leave ya like that." Luke hadn't wanted the kid to come to hate her cousin like she did her mentor. "I told him to call once he got home." But there wasn't a call, not even on the answering machine.

Luke called first thing in the morning, getting his sister. "Hey, did Jess make it home last night?"

"He did," she replied.

Relieved, he said, "Good."

"Didn't say a word. Just went straight to his room," Liz explained.

That was understandable. "Is he up yet?"

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"Well, can you see? Shelby wants to speak with him. She didn't get to say good-bye."

"I think we should just leave him alone for now," Liz told him.

"Liz, please. Just check."

After a moment, his sister agreed. They had to wait for Liz to go knock on his door. He could hear her call for Jess, knocking on his door. There was a short pause before she came back on the phone. "Sorry, big brother. No dice."

Luke let out a sigh. "Tell him he has to, that it's Shelby who wants to talk, not me."

"There's no telling him anything. If he's not coming to the phone, there's no trying."

He tried to pursue things further, but Liz wouldn't budge, finally telling him she had to go. Afterwards, the call ended.

Luke heard the dial tone, looking at the receiver before hanging it up. He turned to look at Shelby, who looked close to tears again. "I'm sorry, Shell. I tried," he shrugged his hands out, a little. Seeing her start to cry, Luke moved closer, kneeling to her level and pulled her in, kissing the side of her head.

Even with this storm cloud hanging over them, Luke still made Shelby go to school, though he wished he hadn't and wished he had let her take a sick day. Why not? Luke was pretty sure the kid only missed at least a day. Come to think of it, he didn't even recall Shelby ever getting sick, even during cold and flu season.

It had been a struggle getting her ready and out of the apartment, and even when they pulled up to the school, Shelby wouldn't get out of the truck. It took a lot of coaxing and encouragement to convince her. Watching her walk inside the building broke his heart and just when things couldn't get any worse, Luke got a call around ten that morning, asking to come pick her up, telling him Shelby had not only lashed out at the teacher, but another student, as well, who was only trying to help.

Two principals call in two days. He had to be the worse guardian in the world.

Heading straight for the school, Luke went into the front office to find Shelby's feet sticking out from underneath one of the chairs and made his way over. He kneeled in front of the chair, placing a hand on the edge for balance, ducking his head to look underneath. Sure enough, there was Shelby, curled into a ball. She was hugging her knees against her chest.

"I kicked someone," he heard her squeak as soft as a mouse, remembering what he had told her about kicking.

Not saying anything about that for now, Luke held his hands out, gesturing to her. Scooting out of her hiding spot, Shelby allowed him to lift her onto his side. Once she was signed out for the rest of the day, Luke carried her home. He left Caesar in charge for the rest of the day, closing up early that evening. Instead, he turned on cartoons and the two watched as he held Shelby on his lap. Not even _Pokemon_ cheered her up when it came on later.

After a while, Luke finally suggested, "Hey. How about we finally take that camping trip, this weekend?"

Glancing up at her dad, Shelby turned back to the TV, nodding her head, yes. So it was settled.

Early the next morning, Luke and Shelby packed, and loaded up the truck, attaching a sign on the door that read _Gone Fishing!_ Then they were off, headed for their camping spot.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

For the first couple of days, not many words were exchanged unless necessary. Luke supervised as Shelby baited her hook the way he had showed her and cast it out onto the water. Once both lures were floating in the water, the two sat in silence.

Luke couldn't keep his mind off what happened. It had to be extremely terrifying being involved in an accident. For both of them. He couldn't help beat himself up over it. He had been the one pushing them together. Luke thought for sure Rory could help Jess. Instead, it drove Jess away and caused him and Lorelai to be in a fight. The things he said alone bothered him, though he wasn't too thrilled about what she had said to him. They were both upset. Honestly, who knew how he would react if it had been Shelby in Rory's position. Possibly he could have felt the same way if roles were reversed. Of course, if it had been both Jess and Shelby in an accident, Luke would have wanted to make sure both of them were okay, and he really was very glad Rory was okay too. He didn't know what he would have done if one or both of them came out worse. In fact, the guy had been going a little overboard, making sure Shelby had her seatbelt fastened before Luke even started the truck whenever they went anywhere.

As Luke let out a breath of air, he felt a hand on his arm. He looked down to see those green eyes of his looking back at him and couldn't help smile. Leaning over, Luke touched his forehead to hers before leaning back. Shelby smiled a little for him. She leaned over and rested her head against his side while holding onto her small fishing pole, finally getting to use it, and it only took five months.

With everything that happened, he was glad the most important person in his life wasn't upset with him, and at the moment, nothing else mattered. Despite his disgust on sitting on the ground, Luke and Shelby ended up propped up against the log they were sitting on, sticking their fishing poles into the ground until one of them got a bite. So far, no fish seem to be biting yet so basically they just laid there, listening to the sounds of the lake and it's surroundings.

With no words or any kind of conversation, Luke and Shelby just laid there, enjoying each other's company. Eventually, Shelby drifted off to sleep, sometime in the early afternoon. Her head dropped limp against his arm, getting his attention.

Since it was nice out without that much sun, Luke decided to join her. He closed his eyes until finally sleep overcame him. They were awaken a couple hours later by some rain drops dropping on their faces. Luke opened his eyes first, hoping that was rain and not anything dropped by a bird. Sure enough, a spring shower started pouring, forcing the two to move things inside their tent until it was over.

While they listened to the rain, Luke got out his guitar to give Shelby another lesson, this time letting her have a go on her own. Compared to her size, the guitar practically overshadowed the kid. Shelby's right arm barely reached over the top to reach the strings. It was still enough for the kid to be able to play, though.

"Yeah, that's it," he praised when Shelby strummed the right notes Luke was teaching her. They worked on Shelby getting _Mary had a little Lamb_ down, another easy song for beginners to learn. All that occupied their minds at the moment was music notes and lambs for about over an hour until she had it and playing the song on her own. "You're gonna be the next Reba McEntire, kiddo." Shelby smiled at that since Reba was still a favorite of hers.

Eventually, Shelby wanted Luke to play something, choosing _Life's a Dance_ first, singing it together as Luke strummed on his guitar. Luke had to admit, the song was fitting. It was surely a hard lesson to learn, one he hoped never had to learn again.

The next one Shelby sang on her own was _One Voice_ , one of Billy Gilman's songs. That one really worked for her vocals, Luke thought as he listened, strumming along as she sang the words. One could tell Shelby really sang it from the heart, putting all she had into it. Miss Patty couldn't be any more right when she had said the kid had talent.

After that song, Luke decided to ask what it was Shelby wanted to be or do when she grew up and finished school since they hadn't really discussed it yet.

"Um, I don' know," she replied, honestly.

"No ideas at all?"

Shelby was sitting between her legs, leaning backwards while holding onto her heels. She stared at nothing as if in thought.

"If you could be anything you want?"

"Ummm…" Shelby thought for a moment before she shrugged. "I don' know, Dad," she finally told him.

"Well, you have plenty of time to think about it," Luke assured her.

"Wha' did you wan' to be when you were a kid?" Shelby asked him, curiously. "Did you know?"

"Uh," Luke had to think back into his childhood on that one, staring up at nothing in particular. "Well, I remember wanting to be a professional baseball player when I was about your age, and when I got a little older and went through my hockey phase, I wanted to be a professional hockey player."

"Wha' happened? How come you never became a baseball player or a hockey player? Did you change your mind and decided to work in a diner in'tead?"

Luke shrugged, leaning his arms on top of his guitar. "When your grandpa got sick and told me he was passing the store onto me, I figured I'd keep it going for him, even if it meant turning it into a diner. Sometimes, plans don't work out the way we want them to. Since I could also cook, that could be my career."

"Wha's going to happen to the diner when your gone?" Luke couldn't help notice the worried look she now wore.

"I don't know. Taylor'll probably buy it and turn it into something he'd want." He couldn't help say that with disgust. Luke didn't want to think about Taylor getting his hands on the diner.

Suddenly, Shelby exclaimed, "No!" now looking if she had just been traumatized or something.

"What, kiddo?" he asked, now concerned.

"Taylor can' have the diner," she shook her head. "I will make sure he don' ge' i'."

Luke smiled at that. But he didn't want his kid working in just a diner for the rest of her life, turning into a third generation grumpy but kind-hearted Danes. He wanted her to do better than that. "That's great to hear you want to keep the place from Taylor, kiddo. You don't know how happy that makes me. But I'd rather you go to college and become something you'd enjoy doing."

"Wha' if I like working in the diner?" She stared up at him in confusion. "Don' you?"

"Yeah, I love it," he assured her. "But there's more out there than just working in a diner. Plus, my talent is cooking, that's why I opened a diner while yours could be something else. Who knows, maybe you will be the next Reba McEntire."

"Bu' I can' sing in fron' of a lo' of people," Shelby pointed out, sadly.

"Like everything, it takes practice. I don't know anything about Reba or any other singer for that matter, but maybe they had a hard time talking as a kid and they had to learn to open up in front of others." Shelby was now staring at the floor of the tent. "Hey," he got her full attention again, "you can be anything you set your mind to, kiddo. Whatever you decide when you grow up, I'll back up one hundred percent, okay?"

Shelby nodded. "Okay."

Luke moved his guitar from his lap, setting it beside him, calling her over, afterwards. Shelby crawled over and climbed into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight, kissing the top of her forehead in the small space her hat didn't cover.

"Love ya, kiddo."

"I love you too, Dad," she replied.

The spring showers ended up lasting through until late morning, the next day, so Luke had to make sandwiches for dinner, inside the tent. Once the rain stopped, the fishing resumed. That was mostly what the two did the whole time which they ended up staying through the weekend and into the next week. Luke wasn't worried about Shelby missing much in school. Mrs. Avery had informed him, they wouldn't be doing much for the last few weeks. Besides, he would help Shelby catch up on any work she'll miss.

Luke did do other things with Shelby on their trip, like their hiking trips the two usually took in the mornings and played catch with each other. For the most part, he tried to keep both their minds occupied. It was harder to do while fishing especially when Shelby wasn't saying much and neither was he. It wasn't until late Tuesday morning did he hear her finally say something while they sat there waiting on a bite. Actually, it was more along the lines of singing, but the words were unfamiliar to him.

"You'll be in my hear'. Yes, you'll be in my hear'. From this day on, now and forever more." Over and over, Shelby sang those words to herself just barely audible. He wasn't sure where she had gotten the words from.

Finally, Luke asked, "What's that you're singing?"

Shelby must have been deep in thought because when Luke spoke, she basically jumped out of her skin, looking up at him. Quickly looking away at the lake, she said, "A song from _Tarzan_. I saw it on the TV one time."

"Oh," he nodded. "It was stuck in your head so you started singing it, huh?"

The kid chewed on her lip, sucking it in. It looked like she was hesitating on telling him something more. "Jess was tear, too. I don' know why, bu' I wen' over and…" She paused in mid sentence, staring at the ground.

"And did what, kiddo?" Luke encouraged her to continue.

Her top teeth scraped against her lower lip for a long time. After a few minutes, Shelby managed to say, "I sang i' to him."

Luke smiled at his daughter's confession, wrapping an arm around her and rubbed her opposite arm. Not long after he started rubbing her arm, Shelby looked up at him.

"Do you 'till wan' to hear my 'tory abou' Jess?"

Luke had to think on what she was referring to. "Your…"

"Wha' Mrs. Avery was going to share a' ta mee-ting," she reminded him.

"Oh," his eyebrows rose at that. Luke had completely forgotten that Shelby had written a story about Jess, in school. That seemed so long ago, too, it was surprising Shelby still remembered herself. "Uh, sure. If you're ready to share it with me."

Shelby nodded. "Promise naw to tell no one?" she asked.

He agreed. "I promise. Do you remember what you wrote?"

Again, she nodded. "Some of i'," Shelby admitted. "I row ta' Jess and I have a lot of fun, toge-ter, and ta' he would watch ow for me, and make sure nobody messed wi' me." Shelby had to stop to remember more of what she had wrote. "He said he never wan-ted a bro-ter or sis-ter, bu' I wasn' ta' bad. Tis wasn' par' of the 'tory because he jus' told me a couple weeks ago, bu' Jess told me I wasn' jus' his cousin anymore."

Luke asked with curiosity, "What were you?"

"He said if I told anyone tis, I was deadmea'."

He chuckled a little at the ground before looking back at her. "What's that?"

Shelby stared up at her dad, sadness returning by this point. Tears even appeared. Taking a breath first, she said, "Jess said I was…" her voice trembled, trying to get the rest of the words out. Luke rubbed his hand along her back. She managed to get the words out, but they ended up a mumbled choke. He had her take a deep breath before repeating it. "J-Jess said I w-was like his baby sis-ter." One of those tears escaped, running down her cheek.

Luke was caught off guard. "Jess said that?"

She nodded before dropping her head towards the ground, sniffing in a few times.

He couldn't believe it. Luke knew Jess cared for his cousin, he didn't think Jess cared that much. Pulling her in, Luke hugged Shelby to him. "That's really great, Shell."

But she shook her head.

"You don't think that's great?" he asked as Luke resumed rubbing her arm.

Again she shook her head.

"How come?"

"Jess lef'." Shelby sniffed at the ground. "And he won' even call, jus' like Bailey."

His heart broke at the mention of her mentor. He tried to point out, "Your mom left and she eventually called. We just have to give Jess some time, too."

Shelby raised her arm to wipe her eyes, not saying anything that time.

Luke tried to think of what to say that might help cheer her up, even for a little while. "There might even be a message waiting for us on the answering machine," he finally said after a minute or two.

Shelby just held her head against her dad's side. Ten minutes went by before she finally confessed, "Jess 'till taugh' me to figh'."

His head swiftly looked down at her at that.

"He wan-ted to make sure I could take care of myself in case nobody else could. Bu' he said don' do i' unless I really needed to."

Luke let out a sigh at that. Not about Jess still teaching Shelby how to fight. "Frankly, kiddo, there's been times I've had to defend myself too. I am a little disappointed Jess didn't listen when I told him not to, but at least he cared enough to make sure you could take care of yourself, so I'm not mad."

Shelby looked up at him. "I miss him." Fresh tears appeared before burying her face into his side.

"I know you do, kiddo," he told her, giving Shelby a comforting squeeze.

As it always did, the camping trip had to come to an end and it was time to return to Stars Hollow. Shelby helped her dad pack everything up and load it into the back of the truck. Even though neither one of them caught anything, they were still satisfied with the trip. Oh well, there was always next time.

Shelby slept for most of the drive home, but woke up just as they neared the town's outer limits, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.

"Sleep okay?" he asked as she continued rubbing.

She nodded, still waking up.

It was dark out when Luke pulled up to the diner and parked on the street. Turning off the engine, he slid out, letting Shelby out on his side. While they were unloading, Shelby was the first to catch sight of Rory coming over and sprinted over to the older girl, hugging her around the legs.

"Whoa there," said Rory, caught off guard by the sudden attack. She held a good hand to the kid's head.

Luke also greeted her, cheerfully.

"You're back," she told them.

"We're back," he repeated.

"You catch anything?" Rory asked when Shelby let go and stepped back.

"Nah," Luke replied, lifting the tail gate, "apparently the fish went fishing, also." He stepped back onto the sidewalk.

"Too bad."

"Yeah, well," he started to say, but that was when his gaze noticed her cast and paused on his words. He silently took in a breath. "So that's the, uh…"

"Yeah."

"Does it hurt?"

Rory looked her arm over. "No, not really. Just itches a lot," she told him.

"Yeah, I can imagine," he said with sympathy and added, "make sure you don't use a pencil."

"Excuse me?" Rory asked confused.

"Your arm, you know, when it itches. I broke my arm once. Itching drove me crazy. Grabbed a pencil, shoved it down the cast to scratch…" Luke demonstrated as he explained what he meant.

"Bad results?"

He nodded, "Bad results."

"Got it. No pencils, I promise."

"Good," he told her before offering some coffee which Rory accepted. Luke picked up their stuff they had unloaded, having Shelby carry in the duffel bag. He led the girls inside, unlocking the door first. "Where's your mom tonight?"

"At a party for my grandpa," Rory answered.

Luke set everything on the floor of the diner for now, switching on the lights. "Ah, sounds nice." He told both of them to grab themselves a donut, as well, while Luke started making a fresh pot of coffee.

Shelby helped Rory put down a couple of the stools.

"So," Rory said, sitting down. "Have you heard from him?"

"Oh, no. I talked to his mom, though. He got home okay," he assured her.

"Good, that's good."

"Yeah, good." Luke returned to making the coffee while Rory asked Shelby which donut she wanted.

"What about his stuff?" she asked him, handing Shelby the one she picked.

"Oh, I'm gonna send it."

Rory nodded as she said, "Right. Makes sense."

Once he had poured the coffee grounds into the pot, he reattached it, starting it up. Luke heard Rory sigh at that point.

"Luke?"

He turned around, leaning his hands on the counter as he responded.

Rory hesitated a brief moment before she told him, "It wasn't his fault."

Luke gave her a reassuring smile as he assured her, "I know it wasn't." Both of them looked over at the little girl, who was sitting there quietly, staring at her donut. She had only taken a small bite so far. Luke reached over and playfully grabbed at her head.

"I heard what happened in her class," said Rory, giving a sympathetic look.

"Yeah," he sighed before taking his hand back.

"Rachel seemed worried when she found out but you guys had already left."

Luke got out a couple plates for them to set their donuts on. He was still a little upset with her from that night, too. He wasn't sure how Shelby felt, but Rachel was the last person he wanted to talk about, much less see, so he changed the subject, asking if anything interesting happened in town while they were gone. Both of them just decided to shoot the breeze, hoping to get Shelby talking. It felt like pulling teeth, but eventually the kid slowly involved herself into the conversation.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Saturday morning, Luke let Shelby watch her cartoons before coming downstairs and pitch in for a little bit. Her cartoon block usually ended right around the time the breakfast rush ended so it would be the perfect time for the kid before the place got busy with the lunch rush.

While Luke was ringing up a customer's order, he heard the door open. Rachel came in. She tried to greet him, welcoming him back, but he couldn't help sound distance towards her. Instead, Luke finished with the customer, giving him his change and told the guy to have a nice day. Even when the customer had left, Luke didn't say much to the mother of his child as he made his rounds, topping off refills to those who wanted it.

Finally, she pointed him out on it, asking why he was giving her the cold shoulder.

Facing Rachel, he told her, "Look, I got work to do." Luke pointed upstairs using the coffee pot, "Shelby is upstairs. Knock yourself out." A family of four walked in at that moment. Thankful for an excuse to walk away, Luke headed over to tend to them, welcoming the family with a cheerful disposition, and offered them a table. Since there were kids, he went and fetched a couple of kids' menus, along with a packet of crayons. Shelby had managed to talk her dad into the coloring menus after making the suggestion, a year ago.

Guessing Rachel must have gone upstairs, Luke took the family's drink order, giving them a few moments to decide what to order while he went to grab them, their drinks. Once they ordered and Luke gave it to Caesar to prepare, that was when Rachel returned, looking heartbroken. She informed him Shelby was upset with her, as well.

"Well, I will call you when Shelby is ready to speak to you again," he told her in a calm manner.

A sigh escaped before Rachel started to leave. She stopped to at least order a coffee to go. While pouring her some coffee, Rachel tried to make small talk.

"So, are you going to Sookie and Jackson's wedding in a couple weeks?"

"Can't. You?" he asked, grabbing a lid from underneath the counter.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah," she nodded, looking around at the floor. Rachel looked up to add, "Sookie hired me to do the photography. My first wedding since opening my studio."

"Good." Once making sure the lid was on, Luke passed it to her. "Have a nice day," he told her as if Rachel was just another customer.

"Thanks. You too." Without another word, Rachel left. So Shelby was upset with her mom, too. He thought she might be.

Shelby went back to school on Monday, but her heart still wasn't into it. Ethan and Alan assured Luke, they were trying to help her feel better while Toby questioned why she was sad all the time and didn't see it as a big deal and wanted to just play. When neither of the kids would play, Toby ended up walking away, thus ending the friendship.

"Well, then Toby wasn't a good friend in the first place if he just walked away," Luke pointed out to her on the way home. "This shows Ethan and Alan really are your friends if they're willing to be by your side even when you don't feel like playing."

She nodded at nothing as she muttered, "Yeah."

The boys even came over the following Saturday and helped Shelby put together an entire city with everything she had. With the added space, the kids had more room to work with. They built houses and buildings out of legos and used the wooden train tracks as streets, keeping them busy all afternoon.

Luke eventually came up, checking to see how they were doing. "You doing alright up here?"

"Yeah," all three kids replied, barely glancing up from their work.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna head next door to Doose's to grab a few things. Any of you want to come along or would you rather stay here?" The kids chose to stay, not wanting to stop production on their project. "I'll only be ten, fifteen minutes, then. If you need anything before I get back, just ask Caesar."

"Okay."

Luke headed next door, grabbing a shopping basket on the way in. As he was shopping, who should Luke run into but Lorelai. Even being back from the camping trip, the two still hadn't spoken since the fight. Things were awkward between them, though as Luke looked everywhere but at her. Of course being in such a small community, it was inevitable they would run into each other eventually.

Lorelai asked how Shelby and the diner was doing. Luke gave her even shorter answers than he gave Rachel. With Rachel, it was pure anger and nothing else. With Lorelai, it was a whole mix of emotions, and anyone walking by who knew him, couldn't help see Shelby in his actions. Just as Lorelai was about to ask if they could talk about what had happened between them, Luke stated he needed to get back to the kids he had left alone and walked away, paying first.

When Luke returned, he checked on the kids, letting them know he was back.

Coming over to see what they had so far, Luke placed his hands on his sides. "Looks nice, so far," he commented.

"We're not done yet," Alan informed him, stacking some legos on top of each other. He was working on the downtown part where all the shops, police and fire stations were. Shelby was working on the houses and apartments, while Ethan put together the roads, extending them out further around their city.

"Well then, I guess I will let you keep on working." Once again, he left the kids alone, reminding them he'll be downstairs in case they needed anything. Since the kids were being so good and were having fun, Luke let the boys stay the night. Their mom brought over an overnight bag for them.

When it got to around dinner time, Luke had the kids take a break to eat something before going back to their city. Now that they were finished, the kids were coming up with stories they would act out, pushing toy cars or trains around, and using Shelby's _Pokemon_ figurines and other action figures and _Little People_ toys that were handed down to her from her cousins.

Luke let them play for a little bit more after dinner before setting them up with a movie and let them use the sleeping bags he and Shelby took, camping. Ethan had asked their mom to bring his _Harry Potter_ movie and Alan wanted his _Stuart Little_ movie, and all three kids made it through both movies so Luke had to put on Shelby's _Pokemon_ movie. Ethan had been the only one to make it through that one while his brother and Shelby ended up falling asleep.

"Can I watch another one?" he asked Luke, who was putting the tape back in its case.

"No, it's late. That's enough movies for one night," Luke told him and turned off the TV.

The boy looked disappointed. A yawn escaped his mouth though. "Good night, Mister Luke," he said, turning over and closing his eyes.

"Good night, Ethan." Luke turned off the lights before going to bed.

His alarm woke him up the next morning. Luke shut it off and just laid there, staring up at the ceiling. A dozen thoughts ran through his mind. Not speaking to both Lorelai and Rachel, Luke had come to the realization that he was finally on his own. It was just him and Shelby at the moment. Only Rory still came by the diner, overhearing Shelby asking her, how come Lorelai wasn't coming anymore, and if she was mad at her. Rory wasn't sure what to say to the kid at first. Luke had only filled Shelby in on the accident. He didn't tell her they had a fight, not wanting Shelby mad at Lorelai, too. Rory did end up suggesting if Shelby wanted to come see her mom graduate from her business class, assuring Shelby she'd ask if it was okay if she came. That helped lift the kid's spirits. In the end though, Luke did decide to let Shelby know that they had, had a fight between the two and reassured her that Lorelai was still her pal.

Since Sookie and Jackie were going to Lorelai's graduation, as well, Sookie offered to pick Shelby up and bring her back, afterwards. Seeing Lorelai again did help cheer the kid up more and was excited to get to see her graduate like Lorelai had seen Shelby graduate from kindergarten.

It had been almost two weeks since Rachel had stopped by and Shelby still hadn't showed a bit of interest in seeing or talking to her. In fact, with both Rachel and Jess not around, Luke was resorted back to getting her to school on time himself, leaving Caesar in charge while he was gone.

One night when Luke came upstairs for the final time, he lied down beside Shelby, who was reading _Captain Underpants_ , a book series Luke often questioned why it existed and why the kids got a kick out of a school principal running around in his underwear. Don't get him wrong, Luke was glad Shelby was able to move up to short chapter books. But why _Captain Underpants_?

"Real page turner, I see?" he said when Shelby hadn't acknowledged his presence. She was sitting slouched against her pillow, surrounded by her stuffed animals while holding the library book open on her stomach. Luke looked down at the page she was on, noticing Captain Underpants was fighting a giant toilet with sharp teeth.

The phone rang.

Hoping that was Jess finally calling back, Luke got up to answer it. It was only Rachel. "Hold on." Luke looked over at where Shelby was still reading. "Shell, it's your mom."

Shelby glanced up to shake her head, no, before turning back to the book.

"Sorry, Rachel. Not yet. Bye." Luke hung up the phone. He let out a breath of air, looking over at Shelby. Finally he moved back to the bed, sitting beside her, this time. "You wanna tell me why you haven't been wanting to talk to your mom?"

Shelby remained focused on her book, not acknowledging her dad.

"Shell?" He saw her gaze drop that time. Wrapping an arm around her, Luke gave her arm a gentle rub. "Hm? What's going on, kiddo?"

"Mom tinks Jess is a bad person," Shelby finally admitted.

"Your mom doesn't think Jess is a bad person," Luke tried to assure her.

Shelby wasn't buying it. "Uh-huh, when I told her one time to give him a chance, she said Jess was one of toes troublemaking kids ta' didn' respect a-tor-a-tee figures. I told her to give him a chance, ta' Jess was nice, she jus' didn' know him. She never did even toe she promised to."

"She was trying, though," he pointed out what Rachel had told him. "Your mom told me about you talking to her about giving Jess a chance."

"Bu' Mom ten yelled at you abou' i'. I heard her, Dad. She tinks the acciden' is his faul'." Shelby gave him a heartbreaking look. "You and Rory said it wasn'. I believe you, nuh her. I mad a' Mom again."

Luke let out a sigh under his breath. Now he was really starting to wonder if letting Rachel be a part of their daughter's life was a good idea or not. In a whole year, Shelby's been upset with her mom, how many times now? Was it normal for a kid to be upset with a parent that much? He couldn't deny, though, the kid did have a point. Even Lorelai gave Jess more of a chance than Rachel did.

"You're right, kiddo," he told her. Luke didn't like his daughter was upset with her mom again, but she was right. In fact, it was one of the reasons he was upset with her, too if he was being honest, and this time, Luke was going to give Shelby all the time she needed to be mad. Instead of talking about it, further, he decided to change the subject. "So, next week is your last week of school. Registration should be starting soon for the next sports season. Have you given any thought to what you want to play?"

Shelby looked away as if going into thought.

"Since you don't turn seven until July, you won't be able to start little league until in the fall," he pointed out.

"Bas-a-ball," she blurted out.

His eyebrows rose at that. That was the last sport he'd expect her to choose.

"You want to play basketball?"

Shelby nodded. "We played i' in P.E., yes-ter-day and I liked i'. Can I play bas-a-ball?"

"I don't know basketball as much as I do baseball or hockey so I may not be able to help out as much."

"Coach Benson taugh' us," she said.

Luke shrugged. "If that's what you want to do, then okay. Basketball it is," he smiled.

"I 'till wan' to play baseball, toe," Shelby added as if to reassure him.

Catching onto what she was doing, he gave a chuckle. "Shell, it's okay if you want to do something different. Remember, I told you, you might have a different talent than I do."

"I know. I nah ready to give up baseball, bu' if I can' play i' ten I wan' to play bas-a-ball," she explained. So it was all settled then. Over the summer, Shelby would be playing basketball. Even better, the following Monday morning when Shelby mentioned it to Rory and Dean, who came for breakfast, Dean offered to show her a few pointers since he played basketball.

"Because your tall?" Shelby asked.

Dean asked, "What?" confused by her question.

"You said you play bas-a-ball. Is i' because your really tall?" she repeated.

"Shelby, be nice, " Luke told her, pouring Rory's coffee.

Shelby looked up at him with a serious face. "I am."

The teens both snickered at the kid. Not in a mean way. No one could deny the kid was adorable.

Now understanding what Shelby meant, Dean told her, "I just like playing basketball. It's not because I'm tall." There must have been a tall kid Shelby known once that must have gotten told several times that he or she were going to play basketball one day. Otherwise, Luke had no idea where she could have picked that up from.

When he walked away to fill their order, Luke couldn't help notice Lorelai was pacing outside the diner. She was still doing it when he returned with their orders.

"The sooner you finish eating, Shell, the sooner we can leave for school so I can get back here."

Shelby nodded up at him and started on her eggs and ham.

"You know, I can take her for you if you want," Dean offered.

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that," he told the kid, humble.

"I know, but it's on the way and I can start teaching her the basics of basketball."

"You sure?"

"Mm hm," Dean nodded. "I've taken my sister to school before so I know where it is."

"All right then, if you're okay with it." Luke thanked him before walking away. After a while he overheard Rory and Dean talking about how much closer Lorelai had gotten to the place and how Rory was giving her mom some tough love in making her finally come in as she thought Lorelai and Luke had been in their fight for way too long.

The bell ringing made Luke glance up out of the corner of his eye, to see Lorelai had finally made it inside. With all three kids done eating, they all got up to leave. Shelby gave the woman a congratory hug for finally coming inside, but as she was leaving with the teenagers, Luke stopped her with a "hey," grabbing Shelby's attention.

"Forgetting something?" he reminded her, giving her a knowing look.

Shelby smiled and hurried over which Luke bent over to receive a hug and kiss, giving one right back. He then handed Shelby her lunch he packed and told her to have a great day. Once his little buddy had left for school, Luke returned to looking over past orders, now feeling a little nervous. He tried to keep his mind on other things but then he heard footsteps headed in his direction and heard Lorelai greet him, which he responded with a weird-sounding hello of his own. Luke continued going through the orders even though he had already gone through them all, already. Couldn't hurt to be extremely thorough.

"Oh, good donut selection, this morning," he heard her comment, "really." Luke tried to keep focused on the orders in his hand and keep his heartbeat steady. It was in a note she had apologized. So why were things still rocky? They had fights before and they always been able to make up. Why was this any different?

Good variety," she continued. "Good color, good goodness."

Luke made his way around the counter, still trying to focus on his work.

"Well, so the choices are there. It all comes down to what I'm in the mood for…" He heard her pause as Luke twisted around, looking into the back where Caesar was cooking. He twisted back around and continued going through the orders. "Sprinkled, or chocolate, or jelly, or glazed, maple, or kicky, or apple, or raised." Luke at least acknowledged her presence for a few moments. Lorelai gave a nervous sounding laugh. "Donut rhyme, there."

Luke cleared his throat, not even reading anything at this point.

There was a short pause before she said, "Never mind," and asked for a chocolate and sprinkle donut, politely. Luke finally moved, putting down his orders, to lift the lid over the donuts to grab the ones Lorelai wanted. "So, this is how it's gonna be with us now, huh?"

"No idea what you're talking about," he denied not only her statement, but himself, as well.

She gave a slight one shoulder shrug as she said, "You're pulling a Mr. Freeze on me."

"I'm not pulling a Mr. Freeze on you."

"Please, I'm gonna need snow chains just to get out of here."

Luke reached behind him to grab the coffee pot, assuming Lorelai's going to want coffee and poured her a cup.

"I'm sorry, Luke," Lorelai told him flat out and shook her head. "It was a bad night. I completely freaked out." She glanced away for a second. "I said some things. Did you get my note? I wrote you a note."

"Got your note." he had poured her coffee. Luke then returned to looking through the orders again.

"Did you read my note?"

He nodded briefly at her. "Read your note."

"And?"

"It was very well written," he plainly stated.

"That's it?"

"I also enjoyed the _Garfield_ stationary," Luke added. "That's one funny cat. Did you know there's a TV series now?"

She just stared at him. "I said I was sorry, Luke."

"Yes, you did," he acknowledged her.

"I said it like a million times."

"You said it four times," he corrected her. "But I understand you're embellishing for dramatic effect."

"Stop," she muttered softly but where Luke could still hear her.

"Stop, what?"

"Stop this robot talk," Lorelai told him, sounding annoyed by this point. "If you're mad, just act like you're mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you," he told her, calmly.

"You're being really, really unfair. Rory was in the hospital."

Luke stopped her there and asked, "Lorelai, what is it exactly you want me to do?" He shook his head at her as he told her, "I'm not mad. I'm not holding a grudge. I heard your apology. I feel I'm being polite. I listened to your donut bit. I got you your coffee. What would make you happy?" Luke shrugged and leaned on the edge of the counter.

Lorelai remained silent for a moment. She shifted on her feet before she said, "I want Luke, back."

"He's standing right here," he pointed out. Luke then grabbed the orders once more to go through them again. He heard Lorelai mutter out loud, "No he's not," before turning to leave without her coffee or donuts. As the door opened, Luke let out a breath of air through his nose.

Thankfully, Shelby's last week of first grade went well. Mostly, the kids watched movies and played games, and helped clean out the classroom. In fact, the kitchen table was slowly covered by stacks of past assignments, tests, and artwork that Luke needed to sort through once he had the time. At least this time, he managed to get Shelby registered for basketball in time for them to start the first week of June.

Dean ended up keeping good on his word, even taking Shelby to the park, to help her practice while Rory watched them from the side. She was already enjoying it, coming back to the diner covered in sweat. What was even better was it helped keep her mind off of missing her cousin and being mad at her mom. Aside from what was going on between him and Lorelai, everything else seemed to be looking up. Then the week was over...

It started with Kirk creeping Luke out when he told him he was tired of being lonely and how Animal Planet wasn't working anymore. Letting Caesar know he was going upstairs for a minute, Luke headed up to his apartment, finding Shelby sitting at the top of the stairs, hugging her knees to her.

Noticing she looked depressed about something, he asked her, "What's wrong, kiddo? Did Kirk creep you out too?"

Shelby shook her head, staring at nothing.

Luke kneeled on the stair in front of her, placing a hand on the step between them for balance. "What happened?" he asked, sounding a lot more concerned now. Catching her swallow, Shelby pointed back over at the door to the apartment. "Something happen in there? The cable go out again?"

She shook her head.

"What, kiddo?"

Shelby sucked in her lower lip, squeezing her knees tight to her chest. Finally, he just lifted her up onto his side, telling Shelby to show him. Luke sensed her body tense up when they headed inside. What he found was quite literally a surprise. Standing there was Jess. Now he understood what was bothering Shelby.

Both guys exchanged heys before Luke asked, "How did you get in here?" Jess pointed over at the door, stating it was open. "No, I mean, I was in the diner. I would have seen you come up the stairs." He ended up waving it off anyway, swearing to himself how both him and Shelby were so darn quiet, it was scary. Letting out a sigh, shifting Shelby in his arms, who had latched onto his neck, he asked how everything was at home.

"Fine," Jess replied.

"Your mom?"

"Fine."

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he asked, "You in trouble?"

Jess shook his head towards the floor, "No."

"Then what the hell are you doing here, Jess?" Without waiting for a response, Luke moved a little closer, rubbing Shelby's side when he felt her tiny body tense up some more. "You know, we, uh… We called you six times. Now I didn't expect you to call us back to sit on a phone in bed and watch _Sleepless in Seattle_ together. I just expected you to call us back, say you got home safe, no one mugged you on the bus, say you were okay, say good-bye to your cousin, here...you know what, never mind. Just tell me what it is you want. I got work to do."

Looking everywhere at the floor with some hesitation, Jess muttered out loud, "I wanna come back."

Luke wasn't sure if he heard that right. "You what?"

He let out a firm sigh and looked his uncle in the eye. "I _want_ to come back."

"Come back here?" Luke said, making sure.

"Yes."

"Here to Stars Hollow?"

"Yes," Jess told him.

"To live in this apartment with us?"

"I said yes a million times already," he pointed out, somewhat with an attitude.

"You know, you're the one asking for something," Luke pointed right back at him in a more firmer tone, "so you don't get to be James Dean this time, okay? Now, one more time," changing his tone to a surprised one, he questioned, "you wanna come back?"

Jess looked up at the ceiling as if to think on it briefly before he replied, "Yes."

"Why?"

"I just…" the boy shrugged, searching around towards the floor with just his eyes. Luke couldn't help notice them slightly pause on Shelby for a moment there, quickly looking away. "I just…," he glanced towards the side of them. "I just want to come back."

Luke cleared his throat as he glanced at the floor himself, running his hand along Shelby's side once more. Returning his attention towards his nephew, he said, "you know what people told me when I said you were coming to stay with me? They told me I was crazy," Luke shrugged. "They told me I was insane. They told me to start writing letters to Jodie Foster, but I ignored them. I was so sure I knew what I was doing, and then you showed up, and you know what happened? You proved them right. I was crazy. And now, after all that has happened, after all the chaos and havoc that you have wreaked, the heartbreak you put my kid through, you're standing there, wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a butt with hands that are flipping me off, telling me you wanna come back?"

Jess had glanced over at where his books and music was still how he left them. Moving around his uncle, he went over to point out Luke hadn't packed up his stuff yet.

"Uh, no, I've been a little busy," Luke replied and pointed over at the kitchen table, using it as an excuse. "Case in point."

"So when were you planning on sending it back to me?" he asked.

"What, hey, am I wearing a little brown uniform with U.P.S stamped to it?" Luke responded with sarcasm.

Jess couldn't help smirk a little but quickly grew serious again. "So?" he shrugged looking up at him. "What do you think?"

Luke hesitated for a second before pointing a finger at him. "Things are gonna have to be different, Jess."

Jess nodded, looking towards the floor. He looked up to assure him, "I know."

Luke stared at his nephew, slightly sideways. Without removing his gaze, he asked Shelby for her opinion. "What do you think, Shell? Should we let him come back?" Luke felt her grip tighten and felt something wet on his neck, most likely a tear. He frowned, his gaze turning serious. "You really broke her heart, Jess."

Jess looked away at that. "I know," was all he managed to get out.

"I don't think you do." Luke ducked his head to look him in the eye. "You see, your cousin's already been through a lot and had people walk out on her. People she cared a lot for. People who made promises and then broke them."

He saw the boy nod and forced himself to look up. "I know about Bailey."

"Then you know what you put her through by not calling," Luke finished.

Jess searched around at the floor. Taking in a hard deep breath, he looked up and admitted, "I'm sorry, Scout." He paused for a moment. Shelby never lifted her head from her dad's neck though Luke did continue to feel some more tears. "If it helps I couldn't help wonder about you."

Luke gave her side another comforting rub.

Finally, Shelby lifted her head, wiping her face on her arm that was covered in tears before looking back at her cousin, sharing a look with her dad first.

Sniffing in, she whimpered, "I missed you."

With some more hesitance, he told her, "I missed you, too," which Jess quickly added, "tell anybody I said that and you're dead meat."

A small smile appeared on her face at that making Jess smile in return. Wanting down, Luke set Shelby on her feet and switched over to her cousin, wrapping her arms around him. Surprisingly, Jess didn't even squirm this time. Instead, he placed a hand to the top of her head. Once she let go and stepped back, Shelby nodded up at her dad, giving him a thumb's up.

"Okay," Luke told Jess.

"Okay?" Jess replied.

"So you're staying then?" he asked him.

Jess barely shrugged as he said, "I'm staying."

Luke nodded, "Okay then. Stay." There was a short pause until he added one final question. "Remember when I said things will be different?"

"Yes, and they will be," he assured his uncle.

Luke placed his hands on his side, stealing a look with his little buddy. Looking back at his nephew, he gave him a devilish grin as he asked, "How do you feel about bunk beds?"

Caught off guard, Jess frowned. "What?"


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

With her cousin back, Shelby slowly returned to her usual chipper self. People were surprised to see Jess back. Most were skeptical about it, wondering why Luke would allow the kid to come back after what happened, but they accepted it. Of course, there was one person who was not happy about it at all. In fact, she stopped by the diner, one day. They exchanged heys and small talk before Rachel finally got to it.

"So I hear your nephew is back."

"Yep," he replied as Luke wiped down the counter.

"Why?"

"Why, what?" Luke asked, barely glancing up at her.

"Why is he back? I thought you sent him home?"

"He wanted to come back so I said okay," he told her.

Rachel stared at him in confusion. "Just like that?"

"Yep." Tossing the rag off to the side, Luke picked up his notepad, checking things off. At that moment, Jess and Shelby came downstairs, snickering about something which Jess pretended to punch his cousin in the stomach. Shelby flinched out of the way just in time.

"Ha! Two for flinching." Jess then playfully punched her in the arm, receiving a playful kick to the leg. They stopped when the cousins noticed Rachel was there. "Oh, hey. Good of you to stop by," he told her, mockingly.

"Luke and I are having a private conversation if you don't mind," she told him in a calm manner.

Jess looked around the diner at the usual comers that frequent the diner a lot. "Considering you're in a public place, it ain't so private, now is it?"

Rachel ignored him and tried to say hello to Shelby, who hid behind Jess' legs, not even trying to make eye contact.

"Looks like she doesn't want to talk to you," he pointed out in the same manner.

"Jess, take Shelby and go," Luke told his nephew, firmly, nodding towards the door.

"Okay," Jess nodded. He then led Shelby over to the door, turning around to add one last smug comment. "Oh, and while you're here, bitching about whatever, make sure you tell Luke about your little threat you gave me the other day."

Luke perked up at that. He stared from Jess, over to Rachel. "You threatened my nephew?"

"I didn't threaten him," she said.

"Really," Jess nodded at that, "because it sure sounded like one."

Rachel looked up from where she was staring at the floor. "You said the same thing," she reminded him.

He shrugged, "Technically, I was speaking out of defence. Plus, for another few weeks, I'm still in a minor. In fact, I probably could have yelled, I need an adult." Jess was basically enjoying himself by this point.

"Knock it off, Jess," Luke told him before asking Rachel, "what did you say?"

"I told him if he did anything to hurt our daughter, I'd make sure his life would be unpleasant."

Luke couldn't believe what he just heard. "What?" he looked directly at her.

"I didn't mean I'd do anything to him. I just meant I'd call the police," she corrected him. "Not sure what he meant when he said it, though."

"It doesn't matter, Rachel. You had no right to threaten my nephew," Luke spat at her. He was beyond furious by what she had done.

"I can't believe you're still letting him live here," she argued. "I know you're stubborn and all, but this isn't a risk you should be willing to take."

"This does not concern you at all. I decide whether or not this is a risk I should take, not you, and if you don't like it then that's too damn bad. As I have told you, I am Shelby's only guardian and you cannot have a say unless I say so."

"Luke, I have kept my mouth shut about a lot of things, and let other things I disagreed with, eventually slide. But I will not stand around and let some troublemaking kid put her in harm's way. I fear for Shelby every time I know she's with Jess."

"You don't have a choice, Rachel, and as I said, you don't see everything that goes on. I bet you don't even know it was Jess' idea, Shelby call you that time when I yelled at her and she wanted to come stay with you."

Jess scoffed. "Yeah, big mistake, there."

Forgetting the kids were still standing there, Luke told his nephew once again to leave. In fact, he suddenly became aware again that they were standing in the diner putting on a show for the customers. Luke tried to put an end to it as not to prolong the show, but Rachel would not drop it.

"I'm relieved to hear that, but that still doesn't change the fact he put Rory's life at risk and could very well do the same with Shelby. What can I do to make you understand that, Luke?"

Finally, Babette, who had been listening with Miss Patty, spoke up. "You should really lay off the kid, sweetheart. We're all upset about what happened to Rory, but if Luke says the kid's harmless for Shelby to be around, we have to respect that. We respected it when he told us to lay off of you leaving, after all. I don't think that'll be hard for you either, don't ya think?"

"Beside, dear, you don't want to be just like your own father, do you?" Miss Patty added.

Rachel stared at the floor. Knowing that last comment most likely struck a nerve, Luke asked her one last time, "Can you please just let me handle things?"

She kept her gaze towards the floor, letting out a sigh and shook her head. "I hear what you're saying. All of you," Rachel nodded at the older women. "I just can't seem to trust the kid."

"Well, whether you trust him or not, Jess is here for the long haul. So you're gonna have to get used to it."

Suddenly, Jess interrupted again, this time to get his uncle's attention regarding Shelby.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking over in their direction.

"I don't know," Jess shrugged. "I told her we were leaving but she doesn't seem to hear and she's shaking like crazy. I think she might be having an anxiety attack or something."

"Shell?" Luke tilted his head, looking over at his daughter. "Shelby, hey, what's wrong, kiddo?" Shelby was staring at the floor, holding onto Jess' pants legs.

"Peanut?" Rachel also tried to get the kid's attention. "Is everything alright?" When her mom spoke towards her, that's when Shelby suddenly snapped, out of the blue. No one saw it coming either.

"I don' wan' you here anymore! Go away and don' come back!" Shelby was aiming those harsh, angry words towards Rachel.

"Peanut…"

The words kept coming as they poured out, along with a waterfall of tears. "Go away! Go away! GO AWAY!" Shelby repeated the same words a dozen times, along with the words from before, now starting to hyperventilate. Jess ended up sharing a shocked look with Luke as she still stood behind him, now squeezing his pants legs tightly in her hands. The whole diner sat there in shock. Finally, she stuttered, "I-I-I…"

"Peanut, I'm just…"

"I HATE YOU!"

No one knew the kid could reach maximum volume. The whole diner was in intense silence, looking from Shelby, over to Rachel, who was standing there, frozen to the spot, staring back at their daughter.

As soon as Shelby blurted out those words, she buried her face into the back of her cousin's leg.

Luke was the one to break the silence. "Rachel…" But Rachel quickly left the diner, hurrying past where Jess and Shelby were standing. They all watched her leave, catching her through the window. He knew Shelby didn't really mean it, that she was just extremely upset, especially when the kid didn't hate anyone. But having heard those words directed at her, had to sting a lot.

Looking over at the kids, Luke saw she still had her face buried and a guilty look on Jess' face for not leaving when he first told him to.

"Poor thing," Luke heard Babette say, in sympathy.

Unable to stand there any longer, he made his way around the counter, over to peel his little buddy away from her cousin and lifted her up into his arms. Shelby clung to his neck immediately. Later, once everyone had time to cool off, Luke tried to take Shelby over to have her apologize but there was no response when he knocked on the door. Trying her studio next, Luke peered inside the glass doors, seeing all of the lights off and the place locked up, so they headed back to the diner where he tried calling her cell. Nothing.

Luke ended up giving Rachel a few days before he tried again. When he still couldn't reach her, he tried calling her sister and mom, but neither of them had seen or heard from her. Going back to Rachel's apartment, he used the spare key she had given him in case Shelby wanted something that was left there whenever Rachel was out of town.

Unlocking the door, Luke headed inside, calling out for her. He checked every single room, finding the place vacant. While walking past the fridge where Rachel kept a message board, Luke saw there was a message for him.

 _Luke,_

 _Took a trip. Back...Not sure. Tell Shelby I still love her even if…_

 _Rachel_

He released a breath of air.

Luke slowly made his way up the stairs to his apartment, pausing at the top. One hand was on the banister. He took in a deep breath before finally making his way over. It took all his strength just to open the door.

Jess was over, standing on the edge of his bunk, holding his arms on the edge of Shelby's, where she laid, curled in a ball. He looked up when Luke came in. "You find her?"

"Sort of," said Luke.

"What do you mean? Sort of?"

Luke made his way over, having Jess step down so he could take his place, making sure to step on the frame and not the actual mattress. "Shell?" He heard her sniff in before turning over to face him. Her face was tear-stained and her eyes were red from crying so much.

"Mom really gone?" she asked.

Luke found it hard to swallow, but managed to do so. "I'm afraid so."

Shelby searched around before returning her gaze to him and to his surprise, shrugged.

"You okay, kiddo?" he made sure.

She nodded, "Yeah."

"You sure?"

Again she nodded but she didn't say much of anything else. Luke knew there was something going on. Shelby did care her mom had left. That was her fear. Now here it was and she was fine? He didn't think so and reminded Shelby.

The kid just shrugged looking everywhere but at him. Not getting anything else out of her, Luke let her be. For now, at least. Luke just hoped Rachel will come back and soon.

End of Season Two...


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Basketball started the first week of June, on Monday. Instead of practice being in the evening like T-ball was, it was at three in the afternoon which was a little better since it was between rushes. So Luke just closed the diner for a couple hours.

The two walked inside the large gymnasium just as practice was starting. Luke recognized a few kids from Shelby's class so it helped her feel a little at ease. Giving an encouraging push, Luke had Shelby go join her team while he took a seat on the lowest seat of the bleachers.

Dean was already there, standing with the coach. With Rory in Washington for the next six weeks, the guy wanted something to help keep him busy other than work and hanging out with his friends. Plus, Dean wanted to make sure Shelby had all the help she needed. From all the practice he spent with her, he figured she'd be set. It was the social anxiety part Dean mostly looked out for.

For the first practice, the coach started the kids out with some warm-up stretches and exercises, including a few laps around the gym. Shelby was one of the kids who brought up the rear, but wasn't the last one to finish. At that point, the kids hurried over to their parents to grab some water which Luke took the time to let Shelby know how well she was doing, being supportive.

Watching the kids learn dribbling drills, Luke noticed Shelby was the only girl on the team. With T-ball, there had been a couple other girls besides Shelby but not this time. Thankfully, none of the boys seemed to give her a hard time, especially the ones who knew Shelby which Luke was glad of.

This time, practices were Mondays and Thursdays, but the coach assigned each kid, homework drills, wanting them to work on what they learned during practice. He only assigned them five minutes, though. Whether they wanted to do more was up to them. Shelby practiced out front of the diner for longer than five minutes, even trying to dribble it underneath one leg. That, the kid had a hard time getting down. Mostly, Shelby worked on dribbling with both hands and keeping her head up without having to look down so much as the coach taught during practice.

On Wednesdays and Fridays, Dean made some time to take Shelby to the park to work on other drills besides dribbling. When Jess heard who Shelby was spending time with, he didn't seem thrilled, though he didn't say anything about it.

Even with all the practice Shelby had been doing, she still felt nervous the morning of her first game. This time, Shelby's team was orange with a black stripe down the sides of both their jerseys and shorts, so the kids named themselves, the Tigers. Luke also had to take her to go buy new shoes since Shelby couldn't wear her sneakers during the game. It had to be tennis shoes or some kind of athletic wear which she ended up picking a pair specific to basketball.

Unfortunately, the games were in the morning, so Shelby ended up missing her cartoons. Ethan and Alan eventually assured her later they had been repeats and nothing new, but in the meantime, Shelby was bummed about it. She still wouldn't talk about her mom leaving or show any feeings towards it. However, playing basketball seemed to keep her spirits lifted and kept her mind focused. It was a worrying thought Shelby could be bottling her emotions.

While working downstairs, Luke made sure Shelby ate a well balanced breakfast before they left, leaving Caesar in charge while they were gone.

Finally, somehow, Shelby was able to convince Jess to come to her games. During T-ball, she had been unsuccessful. This time, he joined Luke on the bleachers after Luke had told Shelby to go warm up with her team, who were just about to start their stretches.

As Shelby warmed up with her team, someone caught Luke's side view, entering the gymnasium on the other side. Lorelai had come in, climbing towards the top of the bleachers, sitting a few steps from the top. A nervous feeling dropped in Luke's stomach, increasing his heart rate a little. He tried to turn away and focus on his daughter, ignoring Lorelai, who was busy chatting.

Jess must have noticed because he asked, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Luke told him, calmly while stifling everything down on the inside.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Just anxious for Shelby's first game, that's all." Thankfully, the guy took that answer and looked back to watch Shelby. After the kids stretched, they stood in a line and took turns shooting baskets while the other team did the same on their side.

Shelby was doing pretty well, so far, making almost every shot she made. She was the only player with a backwards baseball cap, making her easy to spot. Though, even without the baseball cap, she was easy to spot. For the first game, Shelby spent a lot of the time on the outside, barely moving her feet. When the ball found its way in her vicinity, she'd get scared and let the ball go out of bounds or let another kid get it, sometimes even a kid on the other team. That didn't sit well with some of her teammates.

"Come on, Shell!" Luke called out to her, throwing out encouragement to try and get the kid to participate more.

Dean would come over to talk to her at that point before sending her back in the game. Shelby seemed to make the effort, but like t-ball, did a lot of second-guessing, and backed out.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the bleachers, Lorelai cheered extra loud for Shelby. This time, a score was kept, so basketball was more competitive than t-ball was. Shelby's cheering section made sure to cheer extra loudly. Whenever Shelby slipped up or backed away, Lorelai would call out, "Aw, it's alright, Shelby! You'll get'em next time!" clapping her hands. They even did the whole "defence" chant.

Towards the end of the first half, a kid managed to shove Shelby out of his way and didn't even try to help her up, much less acknowledge her. It made Jess shoot to his feet, which Luke had to grab onto him and yank the kid back down, struggling in the process.

"That punk just shoved her," he pointed out.

"Jess, you're not going out there," Luke told him. As much as he wanted to say something, himself, Luke had to just keep quiet, doing all he could to hold both him and Jess, back.

Once Jess was back down on the bleacher, they saw the referee, a.k.a., Kirk, call a foul and they let Shelby make a free throw while the other kids stood on either side. Things were quiet and all eyes were on Shelby, no doubt making her nervous, as she peered around at everybody.

"You got this, Shell!" Luke called, followed by a cheer from Lorelai and the rest of her cheering section.

Shelby bounced the ball a few times. She stared up at the hoop before finally tossing it up. The ball bounced off the rim. One of the kids on the other team hurried over to retrieve it, passing the ball to Kirk, who passed it back to Shelby, for one more attempt.

"Shelby, you can do it!" Lorelai called out. Dean also cheered her on, which Luke couldn't help notice Jess glare over at the other teen whenever he spoke. There seemed to be some tension between the two.

Bouncing it some more, Shelby looked up. Biting her lip, she tossed it up. This time, the ball rolled around the rim. For a split second, it looked like the ball wouldn't go in, but at the last second, it fell through, earning a point for her team. Screaming and applause erupted from Shelby's cheering section as everyone leaped to their feet as if the Tigers had already won the game.

The game resumed as soon as one of the other team caught the ball and dribbled it towards their side. As the rest hurried after him, some of Shelby's teammates patted her arms as if they were congratulating her.

Cupping his mouth, Jess called out, "Scout, throw an elbow!" when the kids returned to Shelby's side and Shelby was trying to get more involved.

Luke countered that suggestion, telling her not to before turning back to Jess. "That would be another foul, Jess," he told him. "That's why she was able to take those shots."

Jess had been keeping his eye on the kid who had shoved his cousin. "That kid is really pissing me off, though." The kid was awfully close to Shelby again. After a while, Shelby must have caught on, too, as she started trying to stay away from the kid, who moved along with her.

The buzzer eventually went off, signaling for the end of the first half.

Shelby hustled over to grab a drink of water.

"You're doing good out there, kiddo," Luke praised as she took a long drink of water.

"Hey, Scout," Jess also spoke up and pointed over at the other team. "That kid giving you a hard time?"

Shelby twisted around to look in the direction her cousin was pointing in, returning her attention to him. She removed the water bottle, taking in some air. "I heard his coach tell him to guard me because I was open," she informed him. So that explained why the kid had taken a sudden interest in hanging around Shelby. Guess Luke and Jess' overprotectiveness had gotten the best of them and jumped to conclusions too fast. Shelby did look like the easiest player to pass and score if given the ball, especially when she did put in effort, moving around the court. If only they could get the kid to move further in and make a reach for the ball.

"Just make sure you're moving your feet," Luke reminded her, "and keep your focus on where the ball is. Okay?"

She gave her dad a nod, passing the water bottle back to him. Shelby then turned and jogged back over to her team. Both teams switched sides, now on the side Lorelai was sitting on. The kids started out on the center line just how the game started, with Kirk blowing his whistle and tossing the ball into the air. He then got out of there before getting trampled by a bunch of six and seven year olds, who made a grab for the ball. All of them except Shelby, who stood back a little ways. She at least hustled down the court, watching the kid dribbling the ball.

For the rest of the game, Shelby just watched the rest. She may as well had been running laps back and forth, sticking on the outside. Shelby attempted to get closer, even started towards where the ball bounced away, but stopped abruptly when another kid grabbed it.

"You got this, Shell!" Luke called, cheering her on. "Get more in there!"

"Technically, she's doing what you told her to do," Jess pointed out.

He glanced at his nephew for a split second, focusing more on Shelby. "What do you mean?"

Jess shrugged, "You said to move her feet and keep focused on the ball. You didn't really specify to do anything else."

Luke fully looked over at him, but looked away. Jess did have a point. Luke was just glad Shelby wasn't playing a tree like she did in the beginning of t-ball. At least Shelby was moving. He tried to put all of his focus on his kid, catching Dean approach her once more when she got spooked again.

The game came to an end with the final buzzer ringing throughout the gym. The final score was eighteen to nine, with the other team in the lead. The Tigers had lost their first game. Both teams high-fived each other in two single file lines to end things on.

The Tigers' coach had the kids huddle up and take a knee, to praise them and remind the kids it was only their first game. There were seven more games left in the season and plenty of time to improve. Once their snack was passed out, the kids were free to go.

Shelby headed over to her dad and cousin, who had stood up from their seat.

"That was a good effort, kiddo," Luke assured her, hugging Shelby's head against his leg.

"Nope," Jess shook his head. "That was terrible. I want you to give me fifty laps around the gym. Go on." When the puzzled look appeared, Jess assured her, he was kidding and assured her, she did good.

One by one, Shelby's cheering section came over to give her some praise and compliments. All except Lorelai, who had left already.

After they left, Dean came over to do the same. "Hey, Shelby. Good effort out there," he told her, receiving a smile. "You still nervous like you were before?"

She shrugged and held up her thumb and pointer finger up, leaving space in between.

He smiled. "A little?"

Shelby nodded.

"Don't worry. That'll go away once you get used to it."

Luke smiled, looking between the two. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jess staring over at Dean. Luke wasn't sure if Dean was just ignoring him or hadn't actually notice, himself. Whichever it was, he just kept interacting with Shelby until they had to leave.

Over the second week, Shelby continued to practice on her own. She hustled up and down the front of the diner, practicing her dribbling. Luke reminded her to not run out in front of cars in case the ball got away from her, keeping an eye on her through the window. Thankfully, when the ball did get away from her, someone noticed and got it for her. At one point, Luke caught Shelby getting it, herself, looking both ways and using the crosswalk, at least. So, he didn't make a fuss about it and told her to be careful. As much as he would have liked to put his daughter in a plastic bubble, he knew he also had to give the kid some freedom.

The day of the fourth practice, Dean offered to take Shelby so Luke wouldn't have to. Luke declined, this time. Whether it was a game or practice, he wanted to be there to cheer his little girl on. Even if that meant, closing the diner or leaving Caesar in charge.

For Shelby's second basketball game, the Tigers played against the Power Rangers, or the black and white team. There was a couple girls on the Power Rangers' team, so Shelby wasn't the only girl on the court, this time. It still didn't help her nervousness. Though she didn't score for her team, Shelby managed to catch the ball when it bounced towards her. With several kids coming right at her, Shelby quickly looked around and passed it to one of her teammates.

"Way to pass it, Shelby!" her coach called out to her, encouragingly. "Nice job!"

"Great pass, Shell!" Luke also called out to her. Shelby didn't look towards him, instead he saw her head move towards where Lorelai had sat at her first game. In fact, he hadn't heard Lorelai at all. Looking in the same direction, Luke noticed she wasn't there, most likely at the inn. Even where he sat, Luke could tell Shelby was disappointed.

Shelby still put in the best she was able to do. It wasn't her full best, but the kid was still opening up. During halftime, she jogged over for some water, taking a really long drink. When she got her fill and passed it back to her dad, that was when Shelby informed him.

"Lor-lai's naw here."

"Maybe she had to work this morning," he shrugged. "Remember, Lorelai didn't come to every single one of your t-ball games either."

Shelby nodded, though she still remained disappointed.

"I'm here," Jess pointed out. That was actually a surprise he came to another game. It made a corner of her mouth lift. "Go show those Power Rangers who's boss," he encouraged, sending her away, a little more happy. Jess quickly looked over at his uncle who was smirking at him. "What?"

"Nothing," Luke shook his head, turning back to the game just as it was starting. Even though he knew the truth between the cousins, Jess still tried to hide and deny it, trying to remain tough. It was amazing how much Shelby had in making the walls Jess kept up around him crumble at just the slightest touch.

It wasn't until her third game did Shelby make her first attempt at getting in there with the other kids and grab for the ball. Even though the ball was knocked out of her hands, Shelby made a run for the kid who had done it, trying to block him.

Luke couldn't help scoot towards the edge of his seat, watching as Shelby hurried beside him, quickly managing to step in front of him. The kid tried to shoot it over her, but she managed to knock it out of his hand. One of Shelby's teammates caught it and took it back over to their side with everyone else following.

Luke along with the rest of her cheering section cheered her on as Shelby hurried along with them, watching wherever the ball went. When the ball bounced off the rim and fell towards the side, Shelby dashed over to retrieve it, rebounding it as fast she could. The ball flew back up into the air, this time falling inside the net.

Applause and praise erupted from Shelby's cheering section.

As the kids hurried down the other side of the court, Shelby stopped and turned around long enough to hold a thumb's up towards her dad which Luke returned, holding his out.

"Great job, Shell! Proud of you!"

Either the basket or Luke stating he was proud of her must have given her a boost of confidence as Shelby finally started giving her all, moving a lot more and participating better, not only for the remainder of that game, but from then on as well.

As soon as Sookie and Jackson had returned from their honeymoon, Sookie was able to come with Lorelai, for Shelby's fourth game, seeing the kid in full on action. Lorelai had ended up missing the last two games, as well, so seeing Shelby's complete turn around was news to her. Shelby was grabbing, passing, and shooting like a pro! Well, in Luke's eyes, anyway.

* * *

Instead of a party this year, Luke did something different for Shelby's birthday. In fact, he didn't even tell her. Though she did wonder why he told her to bring her baseball glove.

Her birthday landed on a Sunday this time. Closing the diner for a day, Luke drove them to Boston, Massachusetts. It was a two hour drive one way and because she didn't know where they were going, Shelby had taken to asking every ten minutes, "are we tear ye'?"

"Not yet," he replied, for the tenth time, trying not to sound annoyed. Luke understood why, though. It was a rare thing, but his own father used to plan surprised trips for him and Liz, as well, and the suspense was always painful. Of course, Luke made the mistake of telling Shelby to bring her glove instead of just bringing it himself.

Eventually, Shelby took to guessing where they were going and ended up guessing if they were going to a baseball game. Luke wasn't sure whether to say yes or keep quiet. In the end, he decided to tell her the truth.

"Yep, you got it, kiddo," he smiled over at her for a brief moment before returning to the road, ahead. "I thought I'd take ya to your first baseball game for your birthday. That okay?"

Shelby excitedly nodded her head. "Ta' ta bes' bir'day presen' I ever go'!"

Luke couldn't help chuckle. "Is it, now?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Are we seeing the Soxs?"

"Yep, you bet we are, kiddo." That was the team Luke followed and introduced to his daughter, of course. Shelby lifted her arms above her head, cheering with excitement. It was relieving to see the kid back to her happy self again. It was sure a challenge for both him and Jess. The rest of the town helped as well, assuring the kid they were all there for her.

One thing to catch his eye, though, was when Shelby raised her arms and the bottom of her shirt rose, alerting Luke that Shelby was growing. As of today, his little buddy was now seven years old. He had a seven-year-old on his hands. Luke couldn't believe a year and a half had passed already, and they were a year away from being halfway through her childhood. The thought produced a lump inside his throat and Luke found it difficult to swallow.

While he was in thought, watching her from the corner of his eye, Shelby had taken to singing along to the radio. Tim Mcgraw's _My Best Friend_ was playing. It took almost a minute but the words slowly sunk in and his thoughts changed to the last person he thought the song would remind him of. Luke tried to shake his mind of those thoughts, trying to think about the long day he had planned to spend with his little buddy. With both Tim McGraw and Shelby singing the words, Luke couldn't help think of his best friend and soon he couldn't stand it, any longer, reaching over to turn the radio off.

It took Shelby a few seconds before she realized she was singing alone. "Hey," Shelby protested. "I was listening to ta' song."

"Um... how about some quietness for a while," he suggested.

Shelby watched him for a moment before turning to look out her window. She was wearing her baseball glove on her hand, and after a while, she started lightly tossing the ball inside it, over and over. Fifteen minutes later, she finally asked if they could turn the radio back on. Luke reached over and did so. Reba McEntire's _I'm a Survivor_ was playing. Shelby started singing along with her, but he couldn't help notice she was using male pronouns instead of female. Then when Reba sang the title of the song, Shelby sang, "my dad's a survivor."

It made him smile actually. "I'm a survivor, huh?"

She looked over and nodded.

"You know I don't have two jobs, right?"

"Yeah, you do. You work in ta diner and you fix tings around town, like at Lor-lai's house. You jus' don' ge' paid," she explained. "And, you take care of me and Jess, and your hard headed."

Luke switched between her and the road. "Do you even know what that means?"

Shelby nodded. "Mom told me wha' i' means, so I told her tis song fi's you. She says i' couldn' becasue i's abou' a sin-go mom, not a sin-go dad, bu' I tink she's wrong. I' fi's you be'ter ten i' fi's Mom."

"It does, huh?"

She nodded again. "I tink so."

Luke smiled over at his little buddy. He certainly did love this kid so much.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The game started early afternoon. Before the two found their seats, Luke and Shelby stopped by the snack bar first to each get a hotdog and soda, along with water to stay hydrated. Once they had their food, Luke guided Shelby through the entryway that led to their section of the stadium. Their seats were located towards the back of the lower level, climbing a few steps before Luke spotted their row.

"Right here, kiddo," he told Shelby, who stopped climbing and looked back.

"Here?" she asked, motioning towards the row right next to her.

"Yep."

Shelby headed down the row of seats which Luke told her to stop at seat nine. Using one hand, he held the seat down while Shelby sat down, sitting in the next one beside her. While they waited for the game to start, Luke helped her with opening the ketchup packet, letting Shelby squeeze the sauce onto her hotdog. Some squirted onto the bottom of her arm which she licked off.

"Shelby, come on. Use a napkin." Luke passed her a napkin, though all Shelby had to wipe off at this point was her own saliva.

"A tongue is a good napkin, too," she stated.

Luke just let out a sigh. "Not all the time, Shell."

Once more piled in, taking their seats around them, Shelby closed up, already about done with her hotdog. With the stadium full, a guy came on, over the loudspeaker and requested everyone rise for the National Anthem.

Luke rose, having Shelby do the same. She slid off her seat and removed her hat, copying her dad as he held it against his chest. A woman down below was standing at a microphone to sing, though with people standing in the row in front of them, Shelby wasn't able to see. She patted Luke on the leg, who told her to wait a minute. Afterwards, when everyone was able to sit back down, he acknowledged her, giving Shelby, his ear.

"I couldn' see when she was singing."

"I'm sorry, kiddo. There wasn't really much to see, anyway," he told her. "She was just singing. There wasn't any dancing or anything like that." That didn't make her feel better. Not until Luke offered ice cream at halftime to make up for it. Then Shelby was fine, since ice cream always made everything better. In her opinion, anyway.

The game started with the first pitch by the Red Soxs. With her hotdog eaten, Shelby slid off from her chair again, to let the seat go up and sat on the front of it, to raise her up a little. She was now wearing her glove on her hand, hoping to catch a homerun, hit into the crowd. Luke made sure to tell her, not to get her hopes up as one may not get hit their way.

Throughout the whole game, Luke and Shelby cheered the Soxs on, along with the rest of the crowd. Shelby especially seemed to be enjoying herself. By the fourth inning, she side stepped in front of her dad, to climb onto his leg.

She tapped him again.

"Yeah?" Luke lowered his ear for her.

"Am I ge'-ting too big to si' on your lap, Dad?"

Luke gave her a firm squeeze, kissing the side of her head. "Not yet, kiddo," he smiled.

Shelby smiled at that and turned her head back to the game. She ended up sliding off for a moment to grab her drink from the arm rest's cup holder and took a drink before returning it back in place, climbing back onto his leg, afterwards.

Even though a ball didn't get hit to their section, Shelby still had a great time at her first ball game. The kid never even got bored, though she did rest her head against her dad for a while there. When it was finally over, Luke made sure they took their trash with them, throwing it away on the way out.

Since it was packed leaving the stadium, Shelby held onto her dad's hand, as tight as she could, sticking to his side like glue until they were able to get outside and head for the parking garage Luke parked in.

"You hungry, kiddo?" Luke asked as he slid in under the wheel once Shelby had scooted over to her side.

"Yeah, a little," she replied as Shelby fastened her seatbelt.

"How about we grab dinner from somewhere. What sounds good to ya?"

"Um…" Shelby paused to think of what she wanted. "I wan' pissa."

"Alright then, pizza it is." When it was clear, Luke pulled out of the parking space and very slowly headed out of the parking garage. It took a few minutes to get out and onto the main street. Not too far from the stadium was a pizza and wings restaurant. A young woman led them over to a small table which Shelby continued to hold onto her dad's hand until they sat down on either side. The restaurant didn't serve juice so Shelby had to choose Sprite instead while Luke ordered a beer.

Opening the menu, Luke said, "Let's see what kind of pizza they have." He looked up to ask, "Any preference?"

"Mea'ball," she replied, softly.

"Meatball? On a pizza?"

Shelby nodded.

Luke took a second to think what she could mean. "You mean sausage?"

"Um," she paused, looking up at the ceiling eventually nodding, "yeah."

Their server returned with their drinks. Luke decided to order a sausage pizza along with two salads. When the young man serving them walked away, Luke tore off the paper wrapping from Shelby's straw for her and stuck it inside her drink.

Using both hands, Shelby picked up the kid's sized cup to take a drink, setting it back down, afterwards.

"Did you have fun at the game?"

She nodded, making him smile.

"Good, I'm glad." Luke then reached underneath the table and pulled out a birthday gift bag, setting it on the table. "Happy birthday, kiddo."

Shelby pulled it closer to her, asking if she could open it now. Giving her the okay, she looked inside and pulled out a dinosaur figurine set.

"You said you wished you had dinosaurs, right?"

Shelby nodded. "Cool," her eyes scanned over the whole toy set with interest. "Tank you, Dad."

"You're welcome, kiddo." Luke let her look at her present until their salads arrived first. Then he had her put it back in the bag where he put it back under the table so they could eat. Shortly after they received their salads, the pizza arrived. Shelby ate most of her salad before starting on her pizza slice Luke had placed on a plate for her, beside her salad bowl.

Since it was still early enough, Luke and Shelby caught a movie before heading home. Shelby picked the newest Disney movie, _Lilo and Stitch_ , that was out at the moment. Since Shelby had soda at the game and the restaurant, Luke got them each a bottled water along with popcorn, to share between them, letting Shelby hold it in her lap since it would be easier for Luke to reach over than it would be for her.

Through most of the last half of the movie, things got emotional for Shelby. Thankfully, Luke noticed and wrapped an arm around her, to comfort her. Even though he didn't get emotional over the movie, some of the words that the characters said, did stick out in his mind, especially when the older sister's friend told Stitch, he believed they had a chance before he had come along. Both of them were glad the movie ended happy and on the drive home, Shelby stated _Lilo and Stitch_ was her new favorite movie and how she was going to convince Jess to take her to see it, too. There was no way Jess would agree to go see a cartoon but with this kid, Luke really couldn't put it passed her, to succeed.

With it being a long drive home, Shelby ended up sleeping most of the way. When he finally pulled up to the diner, Luke figured he would carry her upstairs, but when he undid Shelby's seatbelt and started to lift her, she stirred.

"Are we home?"

"Yep, we're home, kiddo," Luke told her.

Shelby rubbed at her eyes, waking herself up. She then slid off her seat and climbed out of the truck. That was another thing that reminded Luke his little girl was growing up. Before, he always had to help her out of the truck, now she was doing it all by herself without his help.

They headed inside and upstairs where Jess was still awake.

The young man turned his music off when Shelby came bounding over to his bunk. "Hey, you have fun?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Dad took me to a Red Sox's game, then we had pizza, and saw a movie before we came home."

"Oh, yeah? What movie you see?"

" _Lilo and 'titch_."

"Never heard of it," he said.

"Don' worry. We can go see i'," Shelby assured her cousin with a big smile.

"I'm good," Jess tried to decline. "Besides, you don't want to see the same movie twice."

"Yeah, I do. I's my new favor' movie." Shelby was leaning on her arms, on the edge of the bed. "I love 'titch! He's so cu' and fluffy," she repeated what Stitch had said in the movie. Jess did state he wouldn't go see it, but everyone knew, including him, he probably would get suckered in going.

Jess went over to his dresser, pulling open the top drawer. He pulled out a birthday themed wrapped present and held it out to Shelby. "Since you got me something for my birthday, I got you something."

Shelby went over to her cousin and took it from him. Ripping the paper away, she tossed it into the trashcan.

Luke had went over to the kitchen to rinse off and stick the dishes from the sink, into the dishwasher.

"You said you enjoyed the movie, so I thought I'd get ya the book," he heard Jess explain.

"Bu' I can' read harder chapter books," Shelby pointed out.

"I will if you stop making me read those _Captain Underpants_ books." Jess really hated getting suckered into reading those books to Shelby and reading all those weird names. Like his uncle, he too didn't know why kids were obsessed with a bunch of books about a guy who ran around in his underwear, fighting crime.

"Deal."

Once Luke finished the dishes, he pulled a cake out from the fridge and had Jess help him light seven candles. Both guys sang _Happy Birthday_ for the kid before Shelby blew them out, making a birthday wish. They each had a tiny piece before Luke told Shelby to go take her bath. While she was in the bathroom, Jess took the private moment to pull his uncle to the side while out of the kid's earshot.

"You and Scout got two phone calls while you were gone."

"Okay," Luke shrugged. "From whom?"

"The first one, surprisingly, from her mom."

His eyebrows rose at that. "She called?"

"Yep," Jess answered. "Called to wish her a happy birthday and that she'll be home in a couple days. That she had called up her old editor and took a job, or some crap like that. Not really sure what that means."

"She's a photojournalist. She makes stories out of photos for magazines," Luke explained.

"Huh," he nodded, trying to sound interested but knew it was sarcasm. But Luke didn't really care at the moment. Instead he thought about one particular line from the movie. _I know you're trying, Nani. But you need to think about what's best for Lilo, even if it removes you from the picture._ Luke couldn't help ponder on those words as he thought about Rachel coming back.

It had taken so long to help cheer Shelby up, at least where the kid wasn't down so much. And how he and Rachel spent more time disagreeing than agreeing, and having to fix things, yet again. Luke really did not want to go through that again. To put their daughter through that again.

Concealing things for now, he managed to ask, "So who was the other person who called?"

"Uh, someone named Madison?" Jess replied.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, that's Shelby's old caseworker."

"I think she mentioned something to that effect."

"So, what did she want?"

"She was calling to make sure she still had the right address so she can forward a letter to Shelby that was sent to her."

"Letter? From who?"

Jess glanced towards the closed bathroom door. Luke glanced over as well, confused. "She didn't give any details since she didn't know what it says, but the lady said it was a letter from the parents of Scout's mentor."

"You mean that Bailey girl?"

Jess nodded. "It should get here by Wednesday or Thursday, she said."

"Why would her parents send something? She owes Shelby an explanation, herself."

The young man gave a slight shrug. "Not sure. I'll tell ya one thing, it better be a darn good explanation." Jess then moved around Luke and headed over to drop down on his bunk.

After her bath, Shelby grabbed her new book and crawled into bed with her cousin.

"Hey, what have I said about this?" he reminded her.

"Please, Jess?" Even though he couldn't see it, Luke knew Shelby was trying to butter her cousin up with a puppy dog look. He heard the guy let out a loud sigh before giving in, but told her to keep a foot apart. Jess then started reading the first chapter of _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_. After he finished the chapter, Shelby climbed up the ladder to her own bunk. Her dad stood beside to say happy birthday one last time and to say good night.

"Dad," she said.

"Yeah?"

"Don' leave me, okay?"

Luke realized she was repeating Lilo. He smiled, touching his forehead to hers. "Family means nobody gets left behind."

Shelby smiled in return, kissing her dad on the nose like she saw Lilo do to Stitch when he said it. Luke kissed her on the forehead before heading for his side of the apartment, to head to bed.

Rachel calling was still on his mind the next morning as Luke went along with his morning routine. Having been turning things over in his head, over and over again, he waited until Shelby had finally woken up and got picked up by the twins' mom for a play day until her basketball practice, to call Rachel back.

It rang a few times before _finally_ Rachel answered. Up till then, any time Luke called her, she never answered.

"Hello?"

"You got some nerve." He could not help let the feelings he felt slip out.

"Luke?"

"So after a month of taking off once again, proving the gossip true, by the way. After a month of not answering any of my calls. You finally decide to call?"

"I needed time, Luke. What Shelby said really got to me. It hurt," she tried to say.

"How do you think Shelby feels?!" he shot out that time. Calming down a little and lowering his voice, Luke said, "You were attacking her cousin, Rachel. Whom she sees as a big brother. Not to mention, arguing with me. You know the kid hates seeing me upset."

"So that gives her the okay to say she hates me?"

His blood was starting to boil as his heart started to beat harder against his chest. "Shelby was upset. She didn't mean it and you know it."

Rachel was silent that time. "I didn't, actually."

"Really, and how long have you known her?"

"You know her better than I do, Luke. It really seemed like Shelby didn't want me there."

"Or, maybe you were just looking for an excuse to take off again, just like you always do," he told her.

"That isn't it, Luke," Rachel argued. "Yes, I miss getting to travel all the time, but I told Shelby I'd never leave for her."

"But you did." His voice was quiet and firm, full of anger.

"I fully intended on coming back, I just didn't know when. I needed time."

"You have an apartment to take all the time you need, Rachel. It didn't mean you needed to leave."

He heard her sigh under her breath. "What about when you took Shelby camping that weekend after the accident? Hm? You did the exact same thing, Luke." she pointed out.

"We had that camping trip planned for weeks. At least we weren't gone for a whole month!" he shot in return.

"It's still the same thing. I needed to take some time away, hoping a break between us would do us each some good," Rachel said.

"Shelby was ready to apologize later that same day, Rachel. She was even broken up when we couldn't even find you. Nobody knew where you were, not even your sister. You're a mother, Rachel. With a kid. You can't just take off and expect Shelby to not be affected by this. It took me and Jess, days to put a smile on her face again."

More silence followed.

"You know what, though."

Finally, she said, "What?"

"I'm done."

"You're...what?"

"Done."

"What do you mean, you're done?"

"I mean, I'm done, Rachel. With everything," he reiterated. At this point, he tossed Lorelai's words about keeping the door open for his kid's sake, out the window. He did not want to put the kid through this all over again. "Wherever you went, stay there. Don't even come back. If you do come back, I want you to stay away from her. Don't come within twenty feet of her. You hear me, Rachel? _I don't ever_ want you to come near my daughter again."

Luke, don't do this. _Please!_ I'm sorry for taking off, okay? Just, please, don't shut me out of her life."

"I said I didn't want to do this. I did not want to put her little heart through more heartache, and yeah, it'll always be inevitable, but not if I can help it. That little girl does not need the crap you seem to keep putting her through." That did it. Soon, Luke heard Rachel burst into tears. He felt his eyes close at the floor. Steeling his heart, Luke stared over at a framed photo of Shelby's school picture on the wall above the couch. The smile the kid held as she looked back at the camera. If he could stop at least one heartache, he would do it. "I'm sorry, Rachel. But I can't watch her break apart every time something happens between the three of us." That said, Luke removed the phone from his ear and hung up.

Falling backwards, Luke dropped down on the edge of the bed, dropping his face in his hands. He hated himself for what he had done, nor did he take any pleasure in it. It was too much watching Shelby go through another heartache and he didn't even want to think about what would be in that letter that was on its way. He hoped it would be good news, but if it was, why couldn't Bailey send it? Or better yet, call like she had promised to?

Luke rubbed his face along his hands, once. He surely could not tell Shelby about this. Aw, jeez! What had he done? Protect his kid, that's what he did, or so Luke told himself.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: Just a quick point-out, Rachel will return in the story, she just won't be in season three. When going over my original plans for this season, I realized it wouldn't work which is why I had Rachel leave in the first place. Originally, she was going to be around. Hopefully, you'll like what I have planned now.**_


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Luke wasn't sure whether to give Shelby a head's up about the letter that was coming for her, especially when no one knew what it was about, and he didn't want to get the kid all excited for a letter that could end up bad news. He couldn't help be curious about the letter, though.

With Shelby spending a lot of time outside the diner, practicing with her basketball, Jess found a hobby to keep him busy as well in a girl named, Shane. Whenever he had the girl over, Jess made sure to tell Shelby their apartment was off limits to kids so she couldn't go up there without the say so from him. Of course, with how distracted the kid can get by playing her Nintendo, if she was already up there, playing, Jess would squeeze in a minute or two of making out without the kid noticing. Seriously, a herd of elephants could charge right through and Shelby would never know by how far in she gets into her video games.

Most of that week, though, Shelby spent it, playing outside in front of the diner, running back and forth, pretending to shoot baskets and guard the ball from imaginary players. Now and then, when Luke would look out to check on her, he'd see her talking to Lorelai, who had been walking by, showing off the moves Shelby was learning. Luke would quickly look away if eye contact was met and continued serving the customers.

The letter ended up arriving on Thursday. Luke called Shelby inside, telling Caesar he was going upstairs. Thankfully, Jess was downstairs so they didn't walk in on anyone. On the way up, he informed Shelby, she had a letter that had come in the mail from Bailey's parents. That caught the kid off guard to hear from someone close to her very first best friend.

Luke sat down in the arm chair in front of the TV, letting Shelby climb into his lap. Once they were situated and comfortable. He opened the letter, tearing it open. Luke read the letter out loud.

Dear Shelby,

We had heard so much about you whenever Bailey called or visited home. You sound like a sweet and adorable little girl who had gone through so much in your short life. I hope you can forgive us for not getting in touch with you sooner. You see, it was very hard on us that it took a whole two years before we were able to go through our daughter's things. When we realized there was still someone, who loved Bailey, still in the dark, we felt really badly and hoped you didn't come to hate her for not keeping in touch with you as she promised, especially when that girl always kept promises she made. Just know, Bailey never stopped being your friend and mentor. She adored you, little one. Always had good things to say about you. It pains us to have to inform you of this terrible…

Luke had to stop reading when his eyes saw ahead what was written. His heart just about sank.

"Why did you 'top?" Shelby asked, with her puzzled look.

Kissing the side of her head, Luke squeezed her, tight, before forcing himself to continue. Shelby had the right to know after all.

It pains us to have to inform you of this terrible tragedy. Bailey had a safe trip to California and landed safely. But once she got there, Luke paused to take a deep breath, a drunk driver had come out of nowhere and hit her side of the rental car she had been driving. Thankfully, they had informed us that it was instant and Bailey felt no pain. We are very sorry for not getting in touch, sooner. We didn't mean any harm. It was hard on all of us. Bailey's room had been left alone with the door closed and neither my husband or I were able to go in there until just recently. Just know, Shelby, I'm sure this entire time Bailey has been looking down and watching over you from heaven. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, little one. We hope you found someone just as loving as Bailey was, if not more.

Sincerely,

Dave and Joyce Anderson

P.S. This was her most favorite belonging so we figured you should have it.

Luke had felt something thicker than a piece of paper inside the envelope. Looking inside, he dropped it into Shelby's hands. It was a copy of Pokemon Blue, the equivalent game to Shelby's copy of Pokemon Red.

"You okay, kiddo?"

Shelby was staring at the blue colored Gameboy game in her hand, not saying anything. Finally, after a moment, she asked, "Bailey died?"

"I'm afraid so, Shell," he answered. "That's why she never kept in touch with you." Luke saw a tear escape from her right eye. "I'm so sorry, kiddo." Shelby slowly dropped her head against him and quickly buried her face. Just like when Jess had left, he could hear her muffled cries and roughly but gently rubbed her arm, holding his head to hers. At least it wasn't Bailey's doing and the young woman didn't abandon her as they thought she did, so Luke was able to instantly forgive his daughter's mentor.

Jess came up at that point, asking if he could take a lunch break, stopping when he saw Shelby was upset. When he asked what happened, Luke held the letter out to him, letting Jess come over and read it for himself.

When he looked up, he said, "Guess that is a darn good explanation." They looked down at a broken-hearted Shelby, who was still bawling her eyes out. Neither one knew what to say or what to do.

"I'm sorry, Scout," Jess managed to say after a minute. Suddenly, the young man was ambushed when the kid leaped off her dad's lap and tackled him, wrapping her arms around him. Jess held a hand to her head, not really sure what to do next. "Wanna go to our spot?"

Luke saw her head nod against his legs.

"You mind?" Jess checked with him.

He nodded, letting the kids go.

When Luke eventually got back downstairs, Jeff, the Asian guy that worked for him asked why Shelby seemed upset. He explained to Jeff about the letter and finally receiving closure with knowing what happened to Bailey. Miss Patty, Babette, and Taylor had overheard from where they were sitting, offering their condolences which Luke thanked them.

Later, in the middle of the night, Shelby ended up wandering over to his bed and climbing in beside him.

"Dad," she said, softly.

"Hm?" he replied, tiredly.

"Jess said a drunk driver is someone who drinks a lot of beer and drives a car. Is ta' true?"

"Yeah, kiddo, it is, and it isn't good to mix those two things. People can get really hurt."

"Like Bailey." The way Shelby said it, broke his heart.

Turning onto his side, Luke wrapped an arm around her. "At least she didn't feel any pain." He was trying to sound positive but how does one sound positive when the person that looked out for his kid before he could was taken away from her.

"Never do ta', Daddy." He could make out her shaking her head in the dark.

"I promise, kiddo. I would never get behind a wheel, drunk. I don't even drink that much to get drunk, anyway. At least, not after you came along."

"Ta' good," she said and gave Pikachu a squeeze in her arms. Of course she would have that toy. After all, Bailey was the one who gave her the toy. Luke ended up letting Shelby sleep with him the rest of the night, assuring her the first chance he got, they would go visit wherever Bailey was laid to rest.

The next day, since things were slow for the diner, Shelby set up her new dinosaurs on one of the tables and played with them. She didn't even want to go to the summer carnival when the twins came by with their family. Ethan and Alan couldn't believe how much bad things happened to their best friend and assured her, they would win Shelby a prize to cheer her up, actually breaking into a sibling dispute on who was going to win the best prize.

When it got dark, Luke asked if she'd like to help out, other wise asked if Shelby could move her dinosaurs over to the counter so he could use the table she was sitting at. Shelby volunteered to help out, serving the food to the customers, fetching condiments, restocking napkins, wiping down the tables after they were gone, along with sweeping and mopping the floor when needed. Then when Luke closed, she helped him clean and pack everything up for tomorrow. Even though he switched the sign on the door to close, guess he should have locked it, too as someone still came in, ignoring the sign.

"We're closed," he stated, monotone. After the week he and Shelby had gone through, Luke really didn't want to converse with someone he was still in a fight with. Shelby at least hurried over and hugged Lorelai around the legs, holding on, tight. The kid hadn't seen her since before the letter.

"I know," she replied, once she had lifted Shelby to hold her. It seemed like Lorelai wasn't having a very good day either. "Look, I didn't come here to make up or try to get you to forgive me or talk." He heard her sigh under her breath. Shelby had linked her arms around the woman's neck, holding her head on Lorelai's shoulder. "I wouldn't even have come here at all, but I had a really crappy night, and I really, really need a cup of coffee."

"I had a crappy day, yesterday, too," Shelby told her.

"Shelby, don't repeat that word," Luke scolded, firmly but calmly without looking up. "Go finish filling the napkins."

Lorelai set Shelby back on her feet and let her go finish her task she was supposed to be working on. She then headed over to the counter, suggesting for Luke to pretend it wasn't her. "I'm Mimi, a new customer. I've never been in here before." Lorelai set her things down on a stool and grabbed the coffee pot he left on the counter, along with an empty mug that was there, drying. "I was just walking down the street, and I spotted this place. 'Ooh, hey, nice place.' And I came in." She moved to the complete other end of the counter from where Luke was standing, "Now Mimi is going to pour herself a cup of coffee and sit over here way far away from you. And she promises just as soon as she's done, she will rinse out her own cup and leave." Lorelai poured some coffee before setting the pot on the counter. It made Shelby giggle over where she was sitting on her legs, restocking the napkins which was a plus in Luke's book. The kid needed a laugh.

Things were quiet for a moment while everyone did their own thing. Of course, it didn't last long. Lorelai broke the silence once more after another sigh.

"This is the second time I let myself do this."

Luke looked elsewhere, sighing under his breath. Figures she couldn't last long keeping quiet. But he decided to be a nice guy and ask, "Do what?"

"Think I finally found it."

"Found what?" he pressed on.

"Love, comfort, safety," she finally said.

Luke nodded once, "Ah."

"I mean, first with Max, which, of course, I screwed up."

Shelby spoke up at that point, asking, "Who's Max?" It was a realization the kid had never known Lorelai had dated the guy. The first time it was before Luke had gotten Shelby, then Max didn't return in Lorelai's life until after she left with Rachel, to Ireland, and Max was gone by the time she returned and neither Luke nor Lorelai had mentioned it to her. So, Shelby never even knew Lorelai had gotten engaged, quickly explained to her who Max was.

"Oh," she replied in her usual, causal monotone whenever Shelby used that word and continued stuffing napkins.

Lorelai turned forward again. Eventually, the rest of what was on her mind continued to spill out. "Then with Christopher, which, of course, all the elements of the universe got together to screw up."

"Yep. It's tough when the universe is against ya," Luke replied. He lifted his head from what he was doing as he added, "that's like taking on the Manhattan Garbage Union."

"I always thought if he could just get it together, grow up, maybe we could do it. Maybe we could really be a family in the stupid, traditional, Dan Quayle, Golden Retriever, grow old together, wear matching jogging suits kind of way." Lorelai took in a deep sigh, letting it out as she stared into her coffee. "And then he did get it together. He became that guy." She glanced over at Luke and slightly shook her head, before slowly looking forward again. Suddenly, she choked out, "And he gets to be that guy with her."

Luke fidgeted over on his side, trying hard not to break. It was hard seeing someone break down right in front of him, especially since becoming a dad. He stared up at the ceiling. Why did she have to do this when this stuff made him weak and a softy.

"Chris is gonna have a baby with his girlfriend," she continued, in between sniffles. "He's gonna marry her." Lorelai forced out a laugh. "He's gonna be there for her while she's pregnant and he's gonna be there for her while their child grows up, and he's gonna be there for her while she does…," she sniffed in, glancing between her coffee and the ceiling, "whatever it is she does."

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Shelby had stepped off her chair and was making her way over to the counter.

"And I am in exactly the same place," she sniffed in again, "that I was in before."

Luke was now rocking back and forth, trying to think of what to say. "Is that so bad? I mean, you got Rory." He reached over for his notepad and pencil.

"Yes, I do."

He noticed Shelby climb up onto the stool beside her. "You got friends. You got a house, a job," Luke continued. "And apparently, an iron stomach." Shelby had pushed the stool, closer to her so she could give Lorelai another hug.

Lorelai held a hand to the kid's arm that was wrapped around in front of her "No, it's not so bad," she admitted. "I'm lucky. I know. I just…" Tears had completely drenched both sides of her face. "I feel like…" Lorelai let out another breath of air. "I'm never gonna have it. The whole package, you know?" She looked over at him for a moment and looked forward once more. "That person, that couple life, and I swear," she let out another sigh, "I hate admitting it because I fancy myself Wonder Woman, but...I really want it. The whole package."

At that, Shelby lifted her head, letting Lorelai go and looked directly at her. In the most serious, adorable voice, she told her, "you can be a par' of our package if you wan'."

Luke froze, holding his notepad up in front of him as he stared at nothing in particular. Lorelai letting out a chuckle through her tears made him finally look over again.

She sniffed in, unable to not smile at the kid's adorable innocence. "Thanks, sweetheart." Lorelai wrapped an arm around her and gave Shelby a loving hug. During that time, Luke decided to grab her a donut. He had to call Shelby's attention and motion with his head as he gave a short whistle to move her hand she was holding on the counter before sliding the donut down to Lorelai.

"You'll get it," he assured her.

Lorelai stared at the donut. "How do you know?"

Luke shook his elbow out of the arm that holding his notepad. "I know."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know, okay? I know. Now, eat your donut." He returned to his notepad.

"I'm really not all that hungry," she told him.

"Well, take it with you. You will be later." Luke noticed her stand and move over to where she had left her purse, taking her wallet out. "Forget it. First time customers are on the house. Mimi was it?"

Lorelai smiled at him. "Yeah."

Leaning on the counter, he returned the smile as he told her, "Come again, Mimi."

"Thanks. I will," she assured him. Lorelai sniffed in one last time as she looked around the diner. "Seems like a very nice place. Cute kid you have there." She then turned and headed for the exit, wiping away the tears.

When "Mimi" was gone, Shelby looked over at her dad. "She seems like a very nice lady, Dad," she gave a continuous nod, playing along with the whole "Mimi" thing.

Luke couldn't help smile at that. "Yeah, I think you're right, Shell."

"I like her. I hope Mimi comes back."

"Me too, kiddo." Luke was watching as Lorelai got into her jeep and drove in the direction of her house.

Shelby changed the subject. "Can I have a donu'?" she asked, grabbing his attention again.

He nodded over at the table she was sitting at, "You can once you finish with the napkins," he motioned over there with his notepad. Shelby climbed down from her stool and went back over to the table, to finish.

Things seemed to turn around even more when Shelby came downstairs the next morning to find both Lorelai and Rory sitting there, waiting for their breakfast. She dashed right over and hugged Rory first, who commented on the Michael Jordan look as Shelby was in her uniform, all ready for her game.

"Shelby's playing basketball, now," Lorelai told her as Luke brought their breakfast over.

"Oh, yeah, Dean mentioned something about that," the older girl nodded and turned back to the younger one. "He said you've been getting better each time, too."

She nodded. "Are you coming to my game, today?"

"Sure," Rory told her.

"I don't have to be at the inn until later so I've got time to come see ya, play." Lorelai also assured her.

Shelby's face lit up with excitement, thanking them. She sat down at their table when Luke asked what Shelby wanted for breakfast. After they ate, the Gilmores decided to leave with them for Shelby's game. Rory seemed caught off guard when she found out Jess was going, as well.

The Tigers were playing the Power Rangers again. Unlike the last time, Shelby was getting in there and going for the ball. She even attempted to score as everyone cheered her on.

"Go, Shelby!" Rory called out as her mom cheered the kid on, loudly. She got quiet when Jess called out as well, reminding Shelby to not let any of the other kids push her around when one did.

Shelby side-stepped around the kid bouncing the ball. The blond-haired kid maneuvered around her as she moved with him. Once he was close enough to his hoop, the kid tried to shoot the ball. Shelby made to block it but missed. The throw was too short anyway and one of Shelby's teammates caught it, taking the ball back down to their side.

Jess continued to yell out reminders. Finally, Rory turned to Luke, leaning around her mom, commenting on the turnaround the guy seemed to have, in a whisper. Luke told her about Shelby having her cousin wrapped around her finger, somehow. He received an impressed look.

Lorelai grabbed their attention. "Shelby's got the ball!"

Both he and Rory looked over to see Shelby dribbling the ball, trying to move away from a kid who was trying to block her. Finally, she shoved passed him and tossed the ball up. The ball went right through the hoop, scoring a couple points for the Tigers. Applause erupted from Shelby's cheering section. Shortly after, Kirk blew his whistle, signaling for halftime.

Shelby hustled over to where they were sitting, taking the water bottle from Luke. He also had her wipe off the sweat from her face with a towel they brought.

"You're doing awesome, sweetheart," Lorelai praised.

"Tank you," she replied, taking a breath between drinks. Once Shelby had her fill, she passed both the water bottle and towel back to her dad before returning to her team.

As before, the teams switched sides. Now the Tigers were on the side where Luke and the rest sat. Dean waved over at Rory, who waved back. Jess watched the scene play out but didn't say anything.

The second half of the game started at the center line when Kirk tossed the ball up into the air, quickly moving out of the way as the kids lunged for it. The ball was taken by the Power Rangers first, taking it down to their side where they scored. The ball was checked in while everyone hurried to the other side of the court.

"Be ready, Tigers!" the coach called out, reminding the boys and Shelby to get into their ready positions.

Shelby lowered her upper body a little while holding her arms out, rising to move closer to the hoop. She watched the ball soar towards the hoop, bouncing off the rim and tried to get the rebound but one of the Power Rangers knocked it out of her reach. One of the other Power Rangers, the only other girl, grabbed it and took it back to their side. Shelby ran after her, guarding the little girl.

"Shelby seems to really have the hang of basketball, now," Lorelai pointed out, impressed.

"Oh, yeah," Luke nodded. "The kid's been practicing all summer. Even more so than playing video games. Can't complain about that," he shrugged.

"Sports seems to be her thing, huh?"

"Well, that and among other things," he said.

Lorelai changed the subject. "Hey, listen, I heard what happened a month or so ago with Rachel. Shelby said she still hadn't come back yet or called."

Luke shrugged, "That's Rachel for ya. Hoping she would of changed but I guess old habits can't be beat. I'm just surprised she lasted that long."

"That's crazy she would just leave like that and not even call. I thought we had finally gotten through to her."

"Me too. Though she did call on Shelby's birthday to wish her a happy birthday but we weren't home." He continued watching his daughter's game, glancing over at Lorelai for a brief second. Luke really wasn't up for talking about it and he sure did not want to tell Lorelai what he had done. Things were silent for a while.

"I told Shelby if there was anything she needed, not to hesitate to ask." She offered. "I know it must be hard on her as it is."

"After what happened Thursday, I'm sure Shelby appreciates it."

"Why? What happened Thursday?" Lorelai asked. He told her about the letter and finding out what had happened with her mentor. "At least she's finally getting closure." She looked back at the game, following where Shelby was moving around with her eyes. "Poor kid. She must have the weight of a grown-up on her shoulders."

"Yeah," he barely muttered out loud, watching Shelby as well. Hearing a statement such as that got to him, a little.

"I did notice the other day, Shelby's starting to outgrow her clothes," she commented. "Since I missed her birthday, would you mind if I took her shopping, next Tuesday? I got the day off anyways." Lorelai shrugged.

Luke finally looked at her, fully. "Uh, yeah, sure. I'm sure Shelby'll like that."

Lorelai smiled at that. "Then it's settled. I will pick her up when we come for breakfast."

"And I will let her know," he added, returning the smile. The two returned to watching the game.

In the end, the Tigers ended up winning the game that time. A perfect end to a distressing week. Well, that and having the Gilmores, back.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: If anyone remembers the sneak peek I mentioned a while ago, I mentioned I had a scene planned between Lorelai and Shelby during the beginning of season 3. This was it. I had been referring to the "Mimi" scene. When I rewatched this scene, I thought it would be cute to include Shelby in it as how sweet the kid can be.**_

 _ **Also, forgot to mention this last chapter. I either forgot or missed the detail of Dean being away all summer. Some details I do have to change from the series to fit Shelby, but sometimes it's just I either missed or forgot. Most of you seem fine with it, but since it was pointed out to me I just wanted to clear that up for that person. And to add, I'm sorry the story is only focused on Luke's perspective. There's been times I wished I hadn't focused on just him too, but that wasn't the purpose of the story and if I do a side story of the other characters' perspective, it's gonna give away what I have planned later throughout the story. It's been requested a few times now and I thought I'd mention this too. I know it's frustrating not knowing what Jess, Lorelai, and even Rachel are thinking, but please be patient. Answers will come eventually, I promise.**_


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Lorelai and Rory kept Shelby all day Tuesday. Not only did they take her shopping for new clothes, they also went ahead and got her school supplies since Rory also needed stuff for the upcoming school year. It was obvious the kid was now going through a new phase as everything she picked out was basketball related. She even turned down a Pokemon folder for one with a basketball being shot into a hoop. The clothes Shelby picked out were either basketball related t-shirts or jerseys. Though, Lorelai did admit to Luke, she tried convincing Shelby to at least glimpse over at the cute little girls' clothes, bribing she'd give her a million dollars to which Shelby had shook her head, stating she didn't have a million dollars.

"Well, she is my kid," Luke replied afterwards.

The girls also did some other shopping which Shelby made sure to inform her dad was the most boring part, spending most of the time sitting and/or lying on a bench in the dressing room's waiting area while the other two tried on clothes. They also got lunch and caught a movie. Shelby wanted to see _Lilo and Stitch_ again and wanted Lorelai and Rory to see it, too. So they did.

"So she conned you too, huh?" Luke snorted out a laugh when they told him. He was standing at their table, holding the coffee pot in his hand.

"No. If that was what the kid wanted to see," Lorelai told him. "We were okay with that."

"Besides, it was kind of cute," Rory shrugged. "I enjoyed it."

"Did she spend at least part of the drive home, repeating lines from the movie?"

"No," replied Lorelai. "She spent the drive out to Providence, reciting lines."

"You know you didn't have to do that," Luke repeated what he had told her when Lorelai had asked for directions to the cemetery where Bailey was buried. "I planned to do it, this weekend."

"I know, but I figured it would be better to get it done sooner, and we even got to hear all about Bailey." She smiled over at the little girl.

Luke couldn't help smile. "Well, thank you," he thanked both Gilmores and turned his attention to Shelby. "You have fun, kiddo?"

Shelby nodded.

"Good, I'm glad." He hunched over and kissed her on the cheek which Shelby got him back on his cheek. Luke couldn't help catch both Lorelai and Rory smiling as they watched the two. He then rubbed a hand over the top of her hat before walking away.

On Sunday, Luke had to leave the diner for a few minutes to run Shelby over to the church for her Sunday class. A few weeks back, she had come to him, wanting to go to church like she used to in foster care whenever she stayed with Madison and her family. Personally, he wasn't a "church" kind of guy, but if that's what Shelby wanted, Luke agreed to at least drop her off.

"Why don' you wan' to go?" she had asked. Luke then had to explain his reasoning why he didn't care for church without admitting he was skeptical about the whole God thing, not wanting to burst her bubble.

The first time Luke dropped her off, everyone was surprised to see him there and had to explain how he was just dropping Shelby off. The most worse was when he ran into Lane and her mother, though Luke could not tell if the woman was surprised or not.

"What are you doing here?" Mrs. Kim probed.

Pointing over his shoulder, he replied, "Uh, I was just dropping my kid off for Sunday school." It didn't end there. The first question was shortly followed by a bunch of others, Luke could barely keep up. Thankfully, church was starting and saved the poor guy where he could get back to the diner.

On the way home, Shelby would share what she had learned that morning with him which Luke pretended to sound excited for her. Besides wanting to go to church, he also noticed how much more the kid seemed to be praying. The Sunday school teacher had given her a children's bible on her first day, and Luke had found her, curled up a few times in the arm chair they had put on hers and Jess' side of the apartment.

"It sounds cute," Lorelai commented when he told them over breakfast, Monday morning right before sneezing into a napkin. For the past few days, she had come in with a cold, having to order soup with a side of mashed potatoes. At that point, they heard Shelby trying to say the word, teeth while Jess held up a flash card with the word on it. She was sitting on a stool while he stood on the other side, leaning on his arms, having Shelby sound out the word.

"Nope. What should your tongue be doing?" he reminded her.

"T-ee-..." When Shelby tried to make the TH sound, spit flew out of her mouth, making Jess jerk backwards.

"Scout," he hissed. "Say it. Don't spray it."

"Sorry." She ducked her head, apologetically.

"It's good." Jess forgave her, rubbing at his eye. "Gross, you got me in the eye."

Luke and the two older girls snickered to themselves as they watched the scene. He returned a little later with their breakfast, and a lecture about how a healthy immune system helps to not have so many colds, telling Lorelai to eat a vegetable every once in awhile. Maybe even some high-fiber cereal in the morning. Who was Luke kidding? That wasn't going to happen and told her to at least eat the carrots, this time and not just the noodles. Wait... Shouldn't he be telling his kid all this, not a grown woman? Yet Shelby had no problems eating vegetables.

While Jess was still trying to get Shelby to say teeth, correctly, his new girlfriend walked in, greeting him and ignoring the kid, completely, reaching over to kiss him.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Hold on." Jess turned back to his cousin to try one last time before he had to leave, but Shane was a little too impatient. "Fine," he told her, and assured Shelby, they'll finish later tonight. Luke couldn't help notice Shelby watch Jess leave, disappointed. The kid didn't seem to like the new girl in her cousin's life, all that much. Course, it probably didn't help Shane would often give her disgusted looks.

With the summer break coming to an end, along with the end of the basketball session, both to Shelby's dismay, the school year was right around the corner. That meant Luke had a lot of things to do to prepare for back to school, including Shelby's yearly doctor's appointment. It took a huge amount of coaxing to get the kid to come out of hiding once she found out they were going to see the doctor and Luke was not looking forward in repeating last year. This time, he decided to make an appointment for himself so Shelby didn't have to go through it, alone. That actually seemed to help.

They waited in the waiting room until their names were called. As they followed the nurse into the back, Shelby clung to her dad's hand for dear life. He was able to get her to step on the scale so the nurse could weigh her and take her height. She was growing just fine, but because Shelby had been active over the summer than she usually has been, she was a couple pounds below the weight a seven-year-old should be. Luke assured the nurse he'd make sure Shelby ate a little more before she took Shelby's temperature. That was normal at least.

Once they were done with Shelby, Luke had to take a turn since he was being seen as well. Afterwards, they were led to a room where Shelby was told to hop up onto the examination table, crinkling up the paper in the process.

Their doctor walked in, happy to see the kid. "Hi there, Shelby," she greeted, cheerfully. "Remember who I am?"

Shelby looked up at the woman, who was wearing pink scrubs with cartoon cats all over them, and nodded.

"Still not talking, huh?" the doctor smiled. "That's okay." She turned to pull up a chair, looking over her clipboard. "Here for your seven-year check-up, I see." The doctor asked Luke a bunch of questions regarding Shelby's health over the past year, along with sleep, exercise, and stuff like that. "Says here she's under the recommended weight by a couple pounds." She looked up towards Luke.

"Uh, yeah. Guess so," he replied. "Shelby's been out playing basketball all summer. Frankfully, more than I thought she would, spending hours running up and down the sidewalk outside the diner."

"Well, it sounds like she gets plenty of exercise which is very good." The doctor made notes as they talked. "What about eating? Is she eating okay?"

Luke shrugged. "Seems to be. She eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I limit her sweets, makes sure Shelby eats her fruits and vegetables without any kind of fuss. Loves them, actually."

The doctor chuckled at that. "Hey, that's good," she smiled as the woman wrote down what Luke told her. Once they were done with the evaluation portion of the appointment, the doctor stood up, removing her stethoscope from where it was hung around her neck. She stuck the ends in her ears, asking Shelby if she could listen to her heart. Shelby nodded her head, allowing the doctor to place the other end on her chest, around where her heart was, moving it a couple times. Then the doctor switched to her upper back, asking Shelby to take deep breaths while she listened to her lungs.

Afterwards, the doctor looked inside her nose, mouth, ears, and eyes using her otoscope. She then had Shelby lay back while the doctor pressed on her stomach.

"Does that hurt, Shelby?" she asked, pressing in a few spots.

Shelby shook her head, sitting up when the doctor gave the okay they were done.

The doctor walked over to the small sink to wash her hands. "Everything seems to be just fine. Shelby is growing up perfectly," she assured Luke.

Luke smiled, proudly. "That's what matters, right?" he nodded once.

"That's right." She pulled a paper towel from its dispenser, drying her hands with it and tossed the paper towel into the trash can. "Now, all we just need to do is give her, her yearly shot to bring the immunizations up to date, and we'll be done." The moment she mentioned the word, shot, Luke felt sharp pricks in his arm, making him respond with a slight, "aaahh."

He looked down to see Shelby's small hand grasping his arm, her fingernails digging into the skin. It actually reminded him they were due on trimming them. "Shelby. Shell, please let go." Luke tried desperately to pry her fingers away.

"Is everything alright?" the doctor asked, concerned.

Looking at his arm, he replied, "I think she just drew blood again." Luke quickly started trying to calm the kid down, assuring it would be fine. When that didn't work, he asked the doctor about possibly getting a flu shot or something for himself, even though he wasn't fond of needles anymore than Shelby was. The doctor assured him that could be arranged, but first, Luke hadn't had his check-up, yet.

For the most part, Luke's exam was similar to Shelby's, as the doctor listened to his heart and lungs. To help ease Shelby's anxiety, she offered to let her have a listen to her dad's heart which Shelby perked up in surprise when she heard it.

"Want to hear yours?" the doctor asked which she nodded, switching the end of the stethoscope to her own chest. "You hear it?"

Shelby nodded.

Luke was relieved they were able to calm her down. Besides listening to his heart and lungs, and checking his eyes, nose, and ears, the doctor checked his pulse and checked his blood pressure, both just fine. Though, if someone were to get Taylor in there, or whoever else who drove Luke, crazy, pretty sure his blood pressure would skyrocket.

Luke went first when the doctor, along with the nurse, brought in the stuff for their shots, removing his flannel shirt and lifted the sleeve of his t-shirt. He tensed himself up, readying himself for what he had to do to help his little buddy feel at least a little better getting hers. With his eyes shut tight, Luke felt the nerves in his arm twitch as the point of the needle pricked the skin. The doctor told him to relax which Luke hadn't realized just how tensed he was. Someone took a hold of his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. If if weren't for the fact, the hand felt small, Luke would have sworn either the doctor or nurse was trying to get fresh with him, or something. But he knew whose hand it belonged to.

Opening his eyes, Luke looked down to see Shelby looking back at him, trying to comfort him. It made him smile.

Just as quick as it started, it was over. The needle was replaced by a cotton ball and a piece of medical tape.

"There. That wasn't so bad, now was it, you big baby." The doctor playfully smacked him on the same arm, making him grab it as the muscle was still a tad bit tender from being poked. Luke shot her an annoyed look as he unrolled his sleeve and reached over where he had tossed his other shirt, behind where Shelby was still sitting on the examination table. Once they had cleaned up everything from Luke's flu shot, the doctor announced, "Alright, Shelby. You're up."

Her body tensed up upon hearing it was her turn. Luke assured he was right there beside her, reminding Shelby, it would help keep her from getting really sick, but they ended up doing as they had done, last year. Luke took a seat in the visitor's chair and pulled Shelby onto his right leg. Things seemed to go smooth this time when the doctor rolled up her sleeve. She flinched when the doctor rubbed the cold alcohol soaked towelette along her upper arm, keeping her face buried in her dad's chest. The minute the doctor announced she was going to give her the shot, Luke had to hold a strong firm hold on his little buddy, rubbing a hand along the side of her head as he spoke comforting words to her. He could feel her face now drenched in tears, soaking the front of his shirt.

"It's okay, kiddo. It'll be over soon."

"You're doing great, Shelby," the doctor praised her while holding the syringe to Shelby's arm. "I know it hurts, but we hafta do it."

Luke lowered his head to kiss the top of Shelby's head, holding it for a few seconds. Thankfully, it was only one quick poke that probably felt like an eternity to a kid, who continued crying, inaudibly even after the needle was taken away and replaced by a band-aid with Elmo on it. As the doctor and nurse cleaned up, Luke continued to comfort his poor crying child who could probably get a job as a mime. This kid was quite the master at doing things without making sounds.

Now finished, Luke had to carry Shelby out, signing them out at the front desk which the doctor brought her a red lollipop. She refused to lift her head from her dad's shoulder, so Luke just took it. With their final papers in hand, Luke left the doctor's office, heading back to the diner.

By the time they passed Doose's, Shelby's silent cries were now tiny sniffles as Luke rubbed her back.

Lorelai walked up right as they got closer. "Hey, what happened?" she asked, pointing out the dried up tear stains on Shelby's face and the gloom look.

"Doctor's appointment," was all Luke had to say to get the point across why the kid was upset. He felt Shelby push herself up, off his shoulder and wanted Lorelai. So, Luke passed her over to the woman, who gladly took her. He couldn't help smiled as Shelby latched onto Lorelai, who carried her inside which Luke held the door open for them.

Lorelai carried Shelby over to set her on one of the stools, taking the one next to her.

In light of recent events, Luke told Shelby, "What would you like for lunch, kiddo? You can have whatever your little heart desires." He leaned over to let her whisper in his ear, she wanted pancakes. Usually, pancakes were only for breakfast with his kid, but this time, he let it slide and told her, pancakes were coming right up.

After Shelby finished eating, she asked her dad if she could go see if Jess was upstairs before running up to the apartment and ended up staying there. Luke went upstairs a couple hours later to check on her, finding both cousins on the arm chair in front of the TV. Jess had Shelby's game controller in his hands while Shelby sat, saddled on the arm of the chair, watching him play.

Curious, Luke went over to stand nearby, looking over at the screen where Jess was controlling a little kid dressed in a green tunic fighting a giant, four-legged dragon without wings.

"What is that? A dragon?" he asked, holding his hands on his sides.

"No, i's a dinosaur," Shelby corrected him.

"Since when does a dinosaur breathe fire?"

"That's what I said," Jess remarked, trying to run away to avoid the beast while it rolled into a ball, making the boy on the game step onto the hot lava in the center of the room to avoid getting hit, though Jess still took damage from the lava. "It's title said it's an infernal dinosaur, called, King Do-dongo." He moved the boy over to where the dinosaur crashed into the wall and turned around to face him.

"T'row a bomb in i's mou'!" Shelby yelled out.

"Kid, you are right next to my ear, stop yelling," Jess told her, annoyed. "I know what I'm doing." He then pressed the button to pull out a bomb immediately lit, holding the bomb above the boy's head. Trying to aim while facing the right direction before the dinosaur had a chance to breathe fire was not the simplest task. Somehow, Jess finally managed to make it inside its mouth, which exploded before the dinosaur collapsed on the ground. While the creature was stunned, Jess pressed the button for the boy's sword and repeatedly smashed the same button, slashing away at it until the dinosaur got back up, rolling into another ball, thus repeating the whole process over again.

"And why are you doing this?" Luke questioned while still watching.

"Apparently, these things moved in and these other things can't get inside to eat some rocks that are in here, so they sent a child to slay the monster for them," he explained.

"They sent a child?"

"Yep. Guess this kid is some sort of he...ro… Oh, come on!" Jess had ended up being run over by the dinosaur, dying in the process, thus bringing up the "game over" screen. He dropped the controller in his lap, dropping into the back of the chair. "That was my fifth game over." Frustration was all over his face.

Luke couldn't help chuckle at his nephew getting mad at a video game.

"You wanna try?" Jess held the controller up to his uncle.

"Nah, I gotta get back downstairs. You two have fun, though." Heading for the door, Luke was now full-on laughing.

"Keep it up and someone's getting a little surprise in their shampoo later! Let's see if you'll still be laughing when you're bald!" he heard Jess call after him as Luke headed back down the stairs where Kirk was waiting for him.

"Hey, Luke."

"What do you want, Kirk?" Luke asked, grabbing his notepad and pencil.

"I was wondering, since you're friends and you've been to her house, plenty of times," he began.

"What?" Luke tried to hurry him along since he had customers.

"Well, yesterday, I asked out Lorelai and I just wanted your opinion whether or not I had a shot or not."

His eyes immediately lifted towards the guy. A smile suddenly appeared and Luke so badly wanted to laugh again. "What?" he couldn't believe what he just said. Kirk asked Lorelai out? On a date? That was the greatest thing Luke heard all day.

A little bit later, both Jess and Shelby came downstairs. Shelby had her backpack on her back.

"Shell, you don't start school until next week," he pointed out.

"I know," she replied. "We came to ass if we could go trade some of my games in for diff-en' ones."

"Huh?" Luke stared at his kid, confused. Not because he didn't understand or hear her, but because he didn't know what she meant by trading them in.

"I made a phone call to a game shop we found in the phone book," Jess was the one to explain. "Since Scout doesn't like some of those games she got for Christmas, we figured we could sell them or something and get new ones. The guy I talked to, says we can trade them in for any used games of equal or lesser value. Or sell them for cash or store credit, whichever."

"Uh, sure. I guess," he gave the okay, not even knowing that was a thing. Nor, did Luke even know that there was a shop just for video games. "Is that game with the dinosaur included?" he couldn't help ask with a chuckle.

Jess shook his head. "No," he said, and motioned over to Shelby, "she doesn't want to get rid of that. Apparently, those boys were huge fans of football."

"Ah," Luke nodded, now understanding. "Just be back in a couple hours."

"It's in the next town over, so we have to take the bus," Jess added. Luke wasn't too keen on Shelby taking a bus to another town without him present. He assured him, he'd keep a careful eye on the kid.

Even though Luke was still not fully set on it, he told them they could still go. Pointing at Shelby, he said, "stay close to Jess and make sure to hold his hand while you're crossing any streets."

"Wait, does she really need to hold my hand?"

"Yes, Jess, she does. Shelby is still small enough to not be seen by drivers."

Jess tried to object to it, but it was either hold hands while crossing the street or not go at all. There was really no fighting it, so he reluctantly agreed. Once Luke gave Shelby a hug and kiss good-bye, the cousins then left, heading for the bus stop.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Thankfully, the bus ride ended up being just fine with no problems and Shelby was able to pick out some new games for the ones she didn't want. One of the games she picked out was a racing game with real car models instead of cartoon characters driving carts that threw turtle shells and banana peels, though the decision may have had some secondhand influence. Another game she picked out, ended up being liked by Jess. It was a wrestling game and the two played it for most of the evening. Jess was actually glad since it was something he was able to win at, beating Shelby almost every single time. If he had to get suckered in to play a video game with his cousin he'd rather it be something not cartoon-ish. Luke ended up coming upstairs to find the two wrestling on the floor after Jess won for the tenth time in a row.

"What are you two doing?" he asked, standing over them with his hands on his sides.

With Jess distracted, Shelby took the opportunity to pull herself free and body slammed her cousin, trying to pin him. Looking up at her dad as if trying to sound innocent, she said, "Jess keeps bea'ting me."

"You mean on your game?"

She nodded, pitifully.

"Well, kiddo, you can't win at everything. There's always gonna be someone better than you at something," Luke told her. "You beat him at your other games. Let Jess have this one."

"Okay," Shelby gave in and let Jess up. With the high school starting a week before the elementary school, Shelby had to either play alone or find something else to do while Jess was in school.

Around lunchtime, though, she played outside, still practicing to try and dribble the ball under her leg without messing up or losing the ball. Every time Luke looked outside to check on her, he'd smile, seeing the determination the kid had, shaking his head.

Lorelai stopped by around one in the afternoon which was surprising since she hardly stopped by around this same time.

"I'm meeting someone for lunch," she explained.

"Oh," he replied, towards the ceiling. Lowering his head back down, Luke asked, "Kirk?"

Lorelai stared at him. "What?"

"You meeting Kirk?"

"W-why would you say that?" she asked of him.

"Well, I know he asked you out," he said. "So, I just assumed."

"How do you know he asked me out?"

"He told me."

"He told you?"

"Yesterday."

Lorelai groaned, "Oh my God."

"Relax," he told her, clearly enjoying teasing her about it. "I think it's great."

"Why? Why would he tell you?"

"Well, actually, he came to me for a little advice," Luke admitted.

"About what?" she asked before heading over to an empty table by the door.

Luke followed to wipe off the table while they continued with their conversation. "About whether or not I thought he had a shot with ya. After all, I know ya. I've been to your house. I know whether or not you have stain-resistant rugs." He placed the menus into their holder in the center of the table."

Lorelai lowered her head as she stated, "I'm lying down, now," which he continued.

"When he found out you had wood floors, he seemed very pleased." Now, with the table completely cleared, Luke finished wiping down the table with a rag.

She moaned in agony.

"I told him you liked movies and junk food, and of course talking incessantly. But we both agreed that there's nothing like some good lovin' to shut a person up if you know what I mean." He pointed an elbow towards her which Lorelai closed her eyes and just smiled.

"I'm sorry," she reached for her fork, pointing it at him, "can you bring me a sharper fork? I'm not sure this one will go all the way through your hand." Luke grabbed it away from her, forcibly.

"Okay, I know it's new, you probably don't want to jinx it, so I won't talk about it, anymore." Luke lowered himself to lean on the edge of the table, looking at her from sideways. "But I gotta tell ya, seeing that guy's face when he was talking about you," he nodded with a big ol' smirk on his face, "he almost had an expression."

With a wave of her hand, Lorelai told him, "Far, far away from me."

Luke walked away, singing, "Love is in the air," receiving a spoon thrown at him, hitting Luke in the back. When he came around the counter, the phone rang. Grabbing it off its hook, Luke spoke into the phone. "Luke's Diner."

"Luke?" It was Madison calling.

"Madison?" he replied, surprised to hear from her so soon after Shelby's birthday.

"Hi," she greeted, cheerfully. "How are you?"

"I'm good, and you?" Luke smiled.

"I'm doing fantastic. How's Shelby? Has she started school yet?"

"Not yet. She starts Monday."

"I can't believe our little Shelby is gonna be in second grade already." Madison laughed at that. "It seems like only yesterday, she started preschool."

"Man, I know," he agreed, thinking the same thing when Shelby was in kindergarten and when Luke first dropped her off. "I keep telling that kid to stop growing so fast," he shrugged a hand up, "but she just won't." Both of them laughed at that.

"Have you met the teacher yet?" she asked.

"Not yet. They don't tell you anything until the morning of the first day. I hear there's a new teacher that just moved here so Shelby might get someone completely new that even I don't know. Still can't get over she got my old teacher, last year. What are the odds of that happening?"

"In a small town like that, I would assume it would be pretty good."

"Well, yeah, but she wasn't that young when I had her, though," he shrugged and changed the subject. "So what brings your call, today?"

"Oh, yes," said Madison, getting to the point of the call. "My husband and I have been doing some deep cleaning we were overdue on, and came across some home movies. Few of which would interest you and Rachel."

Luke stared at nothing in particular, confused. "Why would your home movies interest us?"

"Because they're home movies of Shelby." The moment he heard who the home movies were of, his jaw dropped. "I think the earliest I have is her first steps." That time, his heart skipped a beat, but in a good way.

"You...y-you have her first steps?" he managed to speak. He was gonna get to see his little girl's first steps?

"Mm-hm. Along with several other moments, including her very first day of school and her first trip to the zoo." There was a short pause until Madison added, "I even have some tapes with Bailey. I know it might be too soon, but I thought Shelby would want to see those at some point."

"I'm sure she'd love that. Some friends of ours took her a couple days ago to visit her grave." Truthfully, Luke wished he could have taken Shelby. It wasn't a whole loss as he was sure they could always visit again but still. "Shelby's right outside if…" Suddenly, he heard Lorelai suddenly raise her voice to someone. He looked over to her table to see her mother sitting with her. "Uh...if you wanted to talk." As Luke said that, Shelby had hurried inside the room, excited about something as Madison cheerfully told him to put Shelby on the phone so she could talk to her.

Just as Lorelai stormed towards the door, Shelby blurted out, "Lor-lai, guess what!" But Lorelai just told her, "not right now, Shelby," and left in a hurry. Shelby looked after her, hurt and confused.

Luke got her attention. "Shell," and whistled her over with a quick motion of his head. She came over, glancing back over her shoulder.

"Is Lor-lai mad a' me?"

"No, kiddo. She's not mad at you. Here," Luke held the phone out to her, letting her know it was Madison, wanting to say hello. Shelby took it, putting the phone to her ear.

"Hi," she said into the phone, shyly. There was a slight pause before Shelby said, "Good...playing bas-ka-ball…" Over the next minute or so, she gave a lot of short responses until she finally held the phone out to him. "Here, Dad."

Luke took the phone, replacing it to his ear. "Yeah."

"I think that is the first time I've held a full conversation with her," Madison said, impressed.

He felt Shelby lean against his leg, hugging it to her and smiled down at the kid. "She sure has come a long way," he agreed.

"That she has," she replied. "Would Friday be okay to come down there? Possibly some time in the afternoon?"

"Yeah, that would be fine." Already Luke couldn't wait for Friday to arrive.

"Alright then, I will see you Friday."

"Okay," he smiled, and both said their good-byes before Luke hung up the phone, letting Shelby know, Madison was stopping by on Friday. He then lifted her up onto the counter. "You okay, kiddo?"

Shelby nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"Just making sure," he assured her. "I'm not really sure what was going on with Lorelai and her mom, but usually it's never good, and I'm sure Lorelai was probably frustrated with her and didn't mean to snap at you like that. Okay?"

Again, she nodded.

Smiling, Luke asked, "You wanna tell me what you had been excited for when you came in?"

Brightening up, Shelby told him, "I finally drib-bowed the ball under my leg wi'ou' messing up," pointing over at her basketball on the floor.

"Really? That's great, kiddo," he told her, happy for Shelby. Luke knew how much the kid had been practicing. "Keep going and you'll be able to do it like a pro." That made Shelby smile more, showing off her dimples. She jumped down from the counter herself, stumbling forward and used her dad's legs to keep from falling forward before hurrying back outside with her ball. Luke smiled after her.

On Friday, Madison stopped by after Shelby had gone upstairs after playing outside for over an hour. Luke was bringing a table their orders when he noticed she had walked in.

"Oh, hey," he greeted. "Just give me one second." Luke placed the food on a table on the other side of the diner before coming back over. Luke noticed Madison was holding a cardboard box and asked, "shall we?" motioning towards the stairs, letting her go first like a gentleman would. As he turned to follow after, Luke called to Caesar, he would be upstairs for a while.

The two of them made their way upstairs.

"Will Rachel be joining us?" she asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Uh, no. Rachel… Rachel left again."

Madison turned around once she reached the top, moving out of the way so Luke could step up there. "What happened?"

Luke shrugged. "It's a long story."

"I'm sorry to hear she left. How's Shelby doing with it?"

"Seems to be keeping her mind busy with basketball, reading, and her video games." He rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. "I don't know if it has anything to do with it, but back in June, Shelby came to me wanting to go to church like she used to, back in foster care. So I've been dropping her off every Sunday, since."

"Yeah, Shelby always did like going to our church. She never came out of the cupboard to participate, but the teacher did say she would catch her watching and listening. It's good she remembers and has some faith."

Luke nodded at the floor. "I don't know much about it, but if that's what Shelby wants to do," he shrugged. Unable to stand there any longer, Luke took the box of tapes from her, to hold it for her.

Now with her arms free, Madison placed her fists on her sides. "Have you and Rachel considered counselling?"

"Counselling?" he questioned. "No," and shook his head. "The idea of sitting in a room, on a couch, telling some stranger you're paying several dollars just so they can analyze the tiniest detail of your life…. Nope."

"Well, Luke, there might be some deep rooted problem keeping Rachel from being the mom she needs to be, and it'll be good for all three of you. I can even give you the phone number to the practice where I used to take Shelby when she had court-ordered therapy."

The thought of having to sit there and talk about his personal life to some shrink did not sound all that appealing to him. "I don't know. I mean, Rachel's always wanted to get out of here and travel. That's why she's always left. Small town life wasn't for her so she would wait until the perfect excuse to arise and take off."

"What could possibly come up that would make a person abandon their child?" she asked, staring at Luke with a confound expression.

Taking a deep breath in, first, he said, "Like I said, long story but Shelby got upset and told Rachel to leave and said she hated her."

Madison's eyebrows rose upon hearing what Shelby had said to her mom. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"Wow. She must have really been upset. That little girl is too sweet to hate anyone."

"Yeah, I know she is, and wh…" Luke started to say it but stopped himself, mid sentence. "Rachel just took it to heart, I guess, and hasn't been back since."

Things were silence for a moment. Madison was shaking her head at nothing, her eyes closed. She opened them, lifting her head to look back up at Luke. "If you both do decide to get help on this, don't hesitate to call me, Luke. I will be happy to pass along the number."

He shrugged, "We've tried everything over the past year. Lorelai had even talked to her."

"Well, maybe bringing in a professional is what you need. I mean, Rachel can't keep coming in and out of Shelby's life, otherwise, there's not gonna be trust between them and could even damage their relationship further," Madison explained. "She either needs to stay and tough it out or…"

Luke nodded, knowing what the woman was saying. "Or close the door."

"I hate to say it, but yeah. Rachel needs to decide if she wants to fill that mom role and not take off just because Shelby gets upset." She chuckled, "if I had a nickle for every time my kids said they hated me because I wouldn't let them have something or do something, I'd be rich."

Luke stared at nothing, thinking about what Madison was saying. Basically, he had made that decision for Rachel, out of protection for their daughter. He didn't want to put Shelby through that again, especially after Rachel had promised she wouldn't and made sure Shelby believed her.

Madison broke his thoughts.

"Huh?" he snapped out it.

"I said, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Luke nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He raised the box in his arms, a little. "Shall we do this?"

Madison nodded with a smile, in return. "Sure." They headed inside the apartment where Shelby was playing with her toys, making her dinosaurs battle her _Pokemon_ toys. "Is that Shelby?" she pretended to be surprised.

The kid looked up from where she was standing on her legs, at the coffee table before jumping to her feet and hurried over to give the woman a hug. Madison bent over to hug the kid in return. Afterwards, she got a good look at Shelby.

"You grew!"

Shelby smiled, brightly at that. She held up seven fingers on both hands.

"You're seven?"

She nodded.

"That's a good age, you know." Madison chuckled. "Did your dad tell you I was bringing over some tapes I have of you?"

Shelby nodded.

Luke nodded over at the coffee table, "Go put your toys away in your toy chest so we can use the coffee table." Shelby hurried over to collect her dinosaurs first, carrying them over to where her toy chest was, setting them on the floor before opening the lid and dropped them inside. She did the same with her _Pokemon_ toys, too.

Once the coffee table was cleared, Luke set the box down and the three of them sat on the couch. Madison went through each one, reading off the labels. To say he was anxiously excited would be an understatement. Luke couldn't believe he was going to get to see more flashes of his daughter's first five years. This was one of the best things that has ever happened.

Most of the labels had specific dates, but some had titles like _first trip to the zoo_ , _first day of school_ , even one of Shelby's t-ball games. Luke wasn't sure which one he wanted to see first.

"Ah ha!" Madison pulled one of the tapes out.

"What?" he asked, sounding somewhat eager. She showed him the label on the side of the tape in her hand. It said, _Shelby's First Steps_. Shooting to his feet, Luke offered to go put it in, taking the tape from her. He walked over to the TV, turning it on and turned the channel to three, popping the tape into the VCR on top. The cartoon that was playing suddenly flashed to a blank screen. Several horizontal lines moved up the screen as Luke slowly backed away so Madison and Shelby could see as well. On screen, a small baby with very short brown hair was coming from around the side of the couch, wobbling on two legs. Luke stood there, mesmerized as he realized it was his little girl.

"Shelby is about eleven months here," he heard Madison say as Luke continued to watch, now having to fight back the tears. He couldn't believe he was getting to see this after all. "This was at a foster home she was staying at, at the time, while I was doing my monthly visit. They said Shelby hadn't even tried this. Something caught her eye that made her get up and try walking."

"What was it?" he managed to ask barely glancing over at her. This was Shelby's first attempt? His little buddy got it on the first try? Seriously, what made the kid suddenly decide to try? His question was eventually answered after a few falls. Being a stubborn Danes, Shelby got back up and started again. On the other side of the room, sitting on top of the piano keys, was a plain, blue baseball cap. Using the piano bench to catch herself, little Shelby reached up and grabbed the hat.

"Oh. I guess I had forgotten it was a baseball cap that got her to walk." There was a slight pause. "Luke?"

His mouth hung open a tad as he watched the video, seeing his little buddy become quite interested in the hat. He didn't even have his blue cap when Shelby was a baby, having received it for Christmas right before Shelby entered his life. It made him feel all choked up inside and Luke fought with all his might not to lose it right then and there.

The video flashed to another scene. It was the same house in the same living room, only this time, it was decorated in party decorations.

"Oh yeah, I forgot I put Shelby's first birthday on the same tape as her first steps. Her foster parents threw her a birthday party," Madison explained as a lady held little Shelby on her hip while, who Luke presumed to be her husband, brought in a cake with a lit candle. Everyone in the room starting singing _Happy Birthday_.

Luke noticed Shelby was really squirming as if trying to get down. Tears were all over her face. Well, when they could see her face. Shelby kept hiding it in her hands or looking away. He could tell she really did not want to be there, nor was she enjoying the attention.

It wasn't right! They shouldn't have had to throw his daughter a birthday party. That should have been his job. That was _his_ kid and this only reminded him on how much Luke had missed out on Shelby's life. Her first steps. Her first birthday. Even though he wasn't a fan of birthdays, he still should have been there for it.

At that moment, the door opened. Jess came in, home from school. He had wandered over, looking around at the TV.

"What are you watching?" he questioned.

Luke glanced at Jess, turning back to the TV. "It's Shelby's first birthday," he nodded towards it.

Madison had stood up, moving closer to the guys. "You must be Luke's nephew," she greeted Jess, holding her hand out to him.

Jess nodded towards the woman. "Hey," he returned the greeting, nonchalantly, not taking the handshake.

"Jess, this is Madison. Shelby's caseworker from foster care," Luke introduced the two of them. "Madison, this is Jess." Jess didn't say much from that point on, heading over to his side of the room.

"I noticed over the phone, he doesn't seem too much of a talker like Shelby," she commented afterwards.

"It actually runs in the men in our family," Luke pointed out, "so it's surprising Shelby ended up quiet like the rest of us." Speaking of Shelby, the kid had been digging around in the box, looking at the tapes. At that point, she had found one that piqued her interest and brought it over to him, holding it up. "You want to watch this one, next?"

Shelby nodded.

Luke took the tape from her, reading the label. It shouldn't have been much of a surprise what the video's title was as he read the words _Shelby and Bailey_. Instead of finishing the first tape, Luke ejected it and replaced it with the tape Shelby wanted to see, letting it play automatically. He stepped back so Shelby could see. The video started with the camera pointed at a four-year-old Shelby lying on her back beside a young woman Luke recognized as Bailey from the pictures. Both girls were lying on what he guessed would be Shelby's bed with Bailey holding the camera in the air, pointed at them. Madison explained how only Bailey was able to get Shelby to talk so there were moments she'd let the younger woman take her camera and shoot Shelby so they could get her voice on film.

"Ready, Shelby?" Bailey asked, smiling over at the little girl.

Shelby nodded at her with her own smile.

Bailey looked directed at the camera. "This is Bailey and Shelby singing the theme to one of the greatest TV shows on the planet." She looked at Shelby, counting down from three before they started singing the _Pokemon_ theme song. Luke could hear the sounds Shelby used to struggle with as he watched the scene, having taken a seat in the arm chair.

Shelby had come over to her dad, sitting on his leg. Luke wrapped both arms around her waist, kissing the side of her head. Just by watching, he could tell how much of a big kid Bailey was at heart, as the two girls were goofing around together.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Bailey asked once they were able to stop giggling after they finished singing.

Just like she had done when Luke had asked, Shelby shrugged in response to Bailey, as well.

"Come on. If you could be anything in the world, what would it be?"

Shelby looked out the corner of her eye. "Mm…" Finally she said, "A sing-er."

Bailey chuckled. "You can't be a singer if you don't talk," she replied. "You gotta learn to speak up for yourself first."

"I no do i'," Shelby shook her head. "Only to you."

"Well then, guess you can't be a singer," Bailey shrugged. A disappointed expression appeared on Shelby's small face. Luke couldn't help look down at his little buddy, seeing the same expression and gave her another kiss. He heard the young woman continue. "But you know what? You can't get anywhere in life by saying you can't do something. If you want to do something, sometimes you gotta work harder to do it. I believe you can do whatever you put your mind to."

Not only did four-year-old Shelby nod, Luke caught her nodding at the TV and couldn't help smile. That's pretty much what he told her, a few months ago during their camping trip.

"We be bes' f'ends forever?" the younger Shelby asked Bailey.

Bailey turned onto her side, the camera shaking as she moved. She leaned closer to Shelby's face. "Always. Best friends forever. No matter how far apart we are." The little girl smiled at that.

Luke looked down to see his little buddy tearing up, and tightened his hold on her in a tight embrace.

"And don't worry, kid. Somewhere out there is a family waiting for you, just you wait and see."

"Why no you be my fam-ly?"

"Hey, if I could, I'd definitely take ya, but I've got student loans to pay back after I graduate and I wouldn't want to bring a kid into something like that. Besides, I would just be getting in the way of the family waiting to make you a part of theirs." There was a long pause between the girls. Bailey was the one to finally break it once more. "Somebody's out there waiting for you, I know it. I bet they don't even know it, either." The young woman grinned a huge cheesy grin, making both Shelbys smile.

"Bailey always did know what to say at times like those." Luke nearly jumped out of his skin. He had forgotten Madison was in the room. The rest of the tape ended up being the subject of _Pokemon_ , who's favorite was what, strongest one in their opinion, etc. Shelby watched with moist eyes, now missing the young woman.

They watched a few other tapes, as well. Bailey was in a few of the most recent ones. There was one where Shelby was two, hiding in a playhouse tent while Madison's kids played in the upstairs' play area. From what Luke could see, the kid seemed to have always been shy and fearful of the world, and couldn't help wonder had Shelby been with him from the start, would she still been that way? The earliest memory he had of his childhood went all the way back to when he was three and even then, it was very vague. Luke had been of the quiet nature, barely speaking unless he had to. Thinking extra hard, he tried to remember more. One memory did occur. Luke had to have been four or five, though he wasn't sure. But he did recall hiding behind his mom on at least one occasion but wasn't that an usual kid thing to do, especially when something frightened them?

Then with that one memory, more followed. When his mom was around, he did cling to her like Shelby would cling to him, sometimes. Later, after she passed, it was moved to his own dad until he got older. Though he didn't cling to him, he still remained close to the man being there when William needed him. Maybe what he had said to Rachel was right. Maybe Shelby really was more like him than he thought.

It got late where Madison had to leave, leaving the box of tapes for Luke. He and Shelby both walked her out, saying good-bye. While waving Madison off, it was Shelby who noticed Lorelai standing outside of Doose's, talking to Kirk. When Kirk walked away, Shelby looked up at her dad for the say-so before shyly making her way over.

Lorelai noticed the little girl coming over while she was scanning her surroundings and turned completely around to face her, greeting her, happily. "Hey, sweetheart," meeting Shelby, halfway.

With how quiet and a way's away from him, Luke couldn't hear what the kid had said, but seemed like she was double-checking to make sure Lorelai wasn't mad at her.

"Uh huh, I'm not mad at you. Why would I be mad?" Eventually, Luke came over and reminded Lorelai of the other day's event, pointing out he knew it wasn't directed towards his kid and how Shelby was caught in the line of fire. She turned back to Shelby and kneeled to her level. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry for snapping at you like that. I was upset and needed to get out of there, and wasn't thinking straight. But I promise it had nothing to do with you, I swear. Sometimes my mother just makes me really frustrated, that's all." She paused for a moment before Lorelai asked, "Okay?"

Shelby nodded, holding onto the bottom of her navy blue and white, plain, sleeveless, polyester shirt in her fists. She then took a step towards Lorelai and hugged her around the neck which Lorelai hugged her in return. The hug was short since Rory had returned. This time it was obvious the younger of the Gilmore girls was upset. Rory was kinder when she greeted Shelby, at least. The four parted company letting them head home while Luke had Shelby head inside and go get ready for bed. However, when Jess returned, he too didn't seem any chipper than Rory was. He tried asking about it but didn't get an answer other than "nothing." So, Luke just asked him to help close up before they headed upstairs for the night where surprisingly somehow Shelby managed to cheer him up. Yes, not even Jess Mariano could resist this kid's charm. The power the kid possessed was astounding.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 ** _Just wanted to point out, more tapes will be shown throughout the rest of season three. So there are still more of Shelby's first five years. Also, thought I should point out, this new side of Jess is only brought out by Shelby. He's still the same Jess with everyone else which will be explained eventually._**


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

With Shelby on a team the whole summer, Luke couldn't take her camping until the very last weekend before school started and it was just overnight, returning Sunday afternoon. Later, at bedtime, they got Shelby's backpack ready, packing all of the school supplies Lorelai had gotten when they went shopping. Luke had tried offering to pay her, back for them but Lorelai wouldn't let him.

Luke had Shelby help him organize everything inside her brand new basketball backpack, putting the pencils, colored pencils, kid scissors, and glue stick in a camouflage pencil box.

As he zipped the backpack closed, Luke called over to where Jess laid on his bed, reading, "Do you have everything you need for your classes?"

"Yep," Jess called back.

"You sure? I can help ya out if you need anything," he offered.

"Nope, I'm good."

Luke passed Shelby's backpack to her, telling her to go hang it up by the door. Doing as she was told, Shelby took her backpack over to hang it on its hook, returning afterwards. Luke of course was the first one up the next morning, getting Shelby up once he was dressed.

Shelby ended up picking out her Connecticut Huskies jersey and sky blue basketball shorts for her first day. While she got dressed and put her shoes on, Luke headed downstairs to open the diner and fix her breakfast, making sure Shelby ate a balanced meal.

Shelby came downstairs when the food was just about done already wearing her backpack on her back and her baseball cap on her head, backwards like always. "I'm ready, Dad," she told him as Luke was bringing the donut case out, setting it on the counter beside the register.

"Find somewhere to sit, kiddo," he told her. "I'll bring you out your breakfast." He headed back into the kitchen. Once the food was all finished, he scooped it all onto a plate and took it out to where Shelby had sat at one of the tables. Unfortunately, that morning in particular, the Gilmores didn't stop by for breakfast. Shelby knew they didn't always stop by every time but she was hoping that morning they'd be there.

"I wan-ted Lor-lai to come too," Shelby told him when he had returned to check on her later when a few customers were there.

"How come you didn't say anything to her the last time you saw her?" he asked.

"I didn' tink abou' i' ten." She stared up at him, pitifully.

"Aw, I'm sorry, kiddo." He held a kiss to her head. "I'm here at least, right?"

Shelby nodded but it didn't perk her up.

When it was time to leave, Luke left Caesar in charge while he took Shelby to school. Outside, Luke had her stand in front of the diner. Having gotten a disposable camera from Doose's, he had Shelby pose for a picture since Rachel wasn't there with her camera. Though he probably wouldn't admit it, Luke wanted a memento of his daughter, growing up, to hold onto something. Afterwards, they finally headed for the school, taking his truck this time.

The second grade classrooms were on the other side from the first grade classrooms. Luke stopped at the second grade bulletin board where the classes were posted and scanned the students' names until he found Shelby's. Hers was on the third list he scanned, finding it with the new teacher. Not only did Shelby have the new teacher, she had a male teacher this year, as well.

"Looks like your teacher is named, Mr. Harris," Luke told her. Shelby held onto his hand, nervously, not letting go even when they made their way over to the classroom. All of the classroom doors were propped open. Sticking his head inside, first, Luke walked in, feeling Shelby cling to his side.

A man looked to be a foot shorter than Luke, with short, black hair and dark skin was finishing up with a couple before he met them inside the door. "Hello there," he greeted them, smiling kindly over at Shelby, who was hiding behind her dad's leg now. "I'm Mr. Harris." He held his hand out for Luke to shake.

Luke returned it. "Nice to meet you," he returned the greeting. "I'm Luke Danes, and this here is Shelby."

Mr. Harris looked back at Shelby and kneeled to her level. "Hey there, Shelby. It's very nice to meet you."

Shelby buried most of her face into her dad's leg, peeking out at the new teacher.

But Mr. Harris remained kind about it. "Shy one, I see. Well, that's okay. I hope we can get to know each other over the next few months." Giving her another kind smile, he stood up.

"Uh, Shelby's more than just shy," Luke then explained to the teacher about how hard it can be for Shelby to speak in new, uncomfortable situations and how she meets with Miss Kelly, twice a week.

"Not a problem. Whatever it takes to help each student, I'm willing to work with," he assured him which actually helped make Luke feel better.

While the adults were talking, another family wandered into the classroom which made Shelby perk up and dash right over, hugging both of her best friends, one at a time.

"Well, I see Shelby already knows someone well," Mr. Harris said.

Luke was glad to see the boys were finally in the same class as Shelby, once again. That was another relief right there. "Yeah, they've been friends since Shelby moved here, back in kindergarten," he explained.

"Oh. Was she living with her mom before?"

"It's a long story, but short version, Shelby spent the first five years in foster care while I had no idea she even existed, and now she's here with me."

"Ah, okay," he nodded, accepting the short answer.

Eventually, the kids hurried over to find their seats. Shelby ended up not being near Ethan and Alan, but to help her feel more at ease, Mr. Harris agreed to switch her desk with another student so Shelby could sit behind where the boys were. He made them promise not to talk so much when they weren't supposed to or they'd be split up, and that went for Ethan and Alan, too since they were right beside each other.

Luke got a few more pictures of Shelby, at her desk and also with the boys, asking their mom if she could take one of him and Shelby, together. Though, when class started and the parents lined the back of the room, excessively taking pictures and filming everything, Luke put the camera away and listened to what Mr. Harris had to say in case there was a problem during the school year, so he knew what to do.

After Mr. Harris talked a little about himself and explained what to be expected in his classroom, he gave the students a chance to say something about themselves and if they done anything special over the summer. Both Ethan and Alan, each went, making sure to both point out they were twins and mentioned about visiting family in Florida for most of the summer, also adding that Shelby was their best friend, too. That part made Luke chuckle under his breath.

The part Luke hated the most came too fast: having to say good-bye. Making his way over, he kneeled beside her desk, draping an arm along the back of the chair.

"You gonna be okay, Shell?"

Shelby nodded at him.

Luke smiled at that. "Good to hear, kiddo." She then leaned over and gave him one last hug, squeezing him, tight before kissing his cheek. Luke returned it, standing up afterwards. "I love ya, kiddo." He lowered his head at Shelby's request so she could tell him, she loved him too. Luke playfully grabbed at the top of her head before pulling himself towards the door. Just like the first couple years, he still hung out at the door for a few minutes, making sure Shelby was still doing fine, watching her through the narrow window on the door as they started on their first day lesson. It wasn't anything school-related. Straining to hear, it seemed like the worksheet Mr. Harris passed out was a get-to-know-your-classmate worksheet. The students had to get up from their seats and walk around the room, having to ask other students questions.

Ethan and Alan made sure to help Shelby get her answers. Knowing the boys were there, looking out for her, Luke soon felt a little confident to leave and head back to the diner. Jess had already left for school when he returned.

All day, Luke counted down the hours until school let out, hoping to hear Shelby had a good first day. Every now and then, he caught himself staring over at the clock on the wall. Time seemed to not move fast enough. He tried to keep busy, thankful the summer rush had not yet ended. Some of the recurring customers asked where their favorite adorable server was.

"She started school again," he'd tell him while pouring their coffee or when he came over to take their order.

Things must have been busy at the inn, as well since he didn't see Lorelai stop by at all. Though, usually if they weren't there in the morning, the Gilmores came around dinner time.

Finally, the time came when it was time to go pick up Shelby. Leaving Caesar in charge, once again, Luke headed over to the school getting there before the rest of the parents did, to get a good parking spot. Eventually, after waiting about twenty minutes, the final bell rang and students piled out of the building, in single file lines, being led by teachers.

Stepping out of his truck, Luke looked around, scanning the students for his kid until he finally spotted her. Cupping his hands around his mouth, Luke called out, "Shelby!" making her look over from talking to her friends. Shelby waved to them before dashing over to where he was standing. He scooped her up and squeezed her, tight while Shelby squeezed his neck. "How was it?"

"I like second grade, Dad," she said, happily.

His eyebrows rose in surprise. "You do?"

Shelby nodded. "I have my friends, and Mr. Harris is really nice. He never made me take off my ha' or make me talk, and we played lo's of games. We didn' even do any real work today."

"That's great, kiddo," he praised, relieved Shelby had a good first day. "How about some ice cream for your after school snack, today?"

Her eyes widened along with her mouth. "Really?"

"You bet, kiddo," Luke smiled at her. He put her back down on her feet before heading over to his truck, letting her climb in. He shut the door for her and hurried around to his side, sliding in under the wheel. Back at the diner, Luke scooped some of her favorite ice cream into a bowl, along with some chocolate syrup.

Jess came in while Shelby was eating. He walked by, heading upstairs when he noticed what she was eating. "Aw, how come she gets ice cream?" the guy questioned, sounding like a little kid.

Luke stared over him. "Would you like some ice cream, Jess?" he played along with it.

"Can't," Jess replied, now in his normal tone. "I just came by to grab something. But thanks for the offer," he pointed a finger as Jess stepped backwards towards the stairs. As he hurried up the stairs he called, "I'll help you close, later!"

Luke just shook his head as he returned to his work.

Once Jess came back down, he headed straight for the door, playfully punching Shelby in the arm. It was something Luke had come to notice something the young man did similar to Luke kissing Shelby, good-bye.

Shelby tried asking if she could tag along but Jess told her she couldn't. Not this time.

"We'll do something, I promise. Maybe this weekend," he assured her. With another playful punch, Jess hurried out of the diner.

Once Shelby finished her snack, Luke let her work her two hours. At the end of her "shift" Lorelai and Rory finally stopped by for dinner. The kid hurried over to them just as they were sitting down and even took their order.

Luke came over just as Shelby was saying, "Bu' you ea' here every day and order the same ting," using the most serious voice. Even when she wasn't trying, this kid could make him smile and want to laugh.

"Well, yes, that is true. But," Lorelai replied. "Maybe today I would like something different. Ever think of that, little missy?" She poked the kid in the stomach. Shelby touched her stomach, but gave her a look that said she wasn't buying it. She let it slide and said okay, turning to him.

"T'ey wan' a min'e to decide, Dad."

"Okay, thanks, kiddo. Should we bring them, their coffee at least?"

But Shelby shook her head.

It was Lorelai who spoke up at that, sounding taken aback. "And why not?"

"No' until you order," she stated, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Fine," the woman replied, giving in and ordered her usual cheeseburger and fries. Rory ordered hers with chili cheese fries. Both of them received a hard glare from the kid who followed her dad. "Someone's not getting a tip!"

Shelby turned right back on her heel and stuck her tongue out at Lorelai and hurried over to beat her dad in giving Caesar, the Gilmores' order. "Can I pour tear coffee, Daddy?" she asked when Luke went over to fetch the coffee pot.

"It's hot, kiddo," he reminded her.

"No' the han-doh."

"Come on," he motioned Shelby over towards the Gilmores' table with his head and headed over there. Luke pulled Rory's cup closer to the edge, letting her know she can lend him a hand in pouring the coffee. Having her use two hands while he still held onto it in his right hand, the two poured Rory, her coffee, who thanked them both. Luke reached over to grab Lorelai's next, doing the same thing. Lorelai thanked them as well when she took the cup back, now full. "Great job, Shell. Why don't you take a break and I'll have Caesar fix you some dinner?"

"I'm no' hungry, and I wan' to keep working."

"You've been working for two hours already. I can't let you keep working. Not without a break. You wouldn't want me to get in trouble, do ya?"

"Well…" Shelby pretended to ponder on that.

"Shelby," he warned.

"Okay," she gave in and told him, she wanted chicken nuggets and onion rings, with orange juice. Shelby then climbed onto the chair beside Rory as Luke walked away to let Caesar know there was another order.

While they ate, Shelby told Lorelai and Rory all about her first day, making sure to include the part about her best friends being in her class this time. To see his kid this happy after a long time made Luke feel relieved and twice as happy as she was, hoping this would last at least for a while. Eventually, the Gilmores did have to leave to go home, so Shelby had to say good-bye, giving them each a hug.

Afterwards, Shelby asked her dad if she could go upstairs and play her video games. Since she was done for the night, Luke went up with her and help supervise Shelby getting ready for bed. He didn't like having her bathe while nobody was upstairs with her, though the only thing she still needed help with was washing her back. Everything else, Shelby was now capable of doing herself, including washing her hair.

After her bath, Shelby got dressed in her pajamas which had basketballs all over them. He told her she could play her video games until he came back upstairs at closing time, reminding Shelby if she needed to come down and get him for whatever reason, to put her shoes on, first.

Jess ended up coming home after Luke had closed the diner. When he had asked where Jess had been, Jess told him, he had some errands to run and the bus was running late and headed upstairs. By the time Luke had gotten up there, shortly after, Jess had gotten into the shower and watched Shelby play her game while he waited for the bathroom. This time she seemed to be an ape wearing a red tie and nothing else, shooting what looked like a gun made out of wood that shot coconuts.

Eventually, he had her scoot over and sat with her in the chair until Jess was finally done in the bathroom and Luke was able to get ready for bed. Through the closed door, he heard Jess tell Shelby if she wanted him to read to her, tonight, she had to turn off the game because Jess was going to sleep, soon. When Luke came out of the bathroom in his pajamas, Shelby was laying in Jess' bunk, listening as he read a chapter from the second _Harry Potter_ book Shelby had found at the library, already halfway through it. After finishing the chapter, it was time for lights out.

Shelby climbed up to her bunk where Luke came over to say good night.

"You had a good day, kiddo?"

She nodded. "Because you, and Jess, and Lor-lai, and Rory, and E'tan, and Alan were here to make i' good."

"Of course. We love ya." Luke reached up a little more to kiss her, good night, holding an arm around her.

Shelby returned it. "I love you too, Dad." That said, Luke gave her back a quick rub before heading over to his side, turning the light off on the way. In the dark, he heard her tell Jess, "Good night, Jess. I love you too," to which his response was, "Who are we? The Waltons?" but did end up saying good night. It made Luke chuckle to himself as he got into bed and set his alarm clock before laying his head on his pillow.


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Not only was Shelby's first day successful, but the first week ended up being a success. Even when they started doing real school work, she still enjoyed second grade. The first few days were mostly review, seeing what they knew or remembered from last year, not really grading them on anything until Mr. Harris briefly went over it with them to refresh the kids' memories before presenting them with a test on Friday.

The evening before the test, Jess ended up being home and helped Shelby study, going over everything that would be on the test and then testing her on it while they sat at the kitchen table. Of course he snuck in some of his own reading while Shelby worked on the practice test he wrote out for her.

Things seemed to be going smoothly with little to no issues. That is until Friday came which Luke happened to catch Taylor snapping photos of the space next to the diner. What was weird was the fact when Taylor noticed Luke was watching him, he pretending to point the camera in different directions. So, what exactly was Taylor up to?

When Luke went to pick Shelby up from school, she dashed right over with great news, beaming from ear to ear.

"Guess what, Dad," she asked when he lifted her up.

"What?"

Shelby held up three fingers. "I only missed three problems on the tes'."

"Really? So you did good?"

She nodded, happily. "Yeah."

"That's great, kiddo," he praised.

"I can' wai' to tell Jess."

"I bet he'll be happy for you, too. You two were studying for a long time, last night." Luke started walking, setting Shelby down on her feet. This time, he had walked to the school instead of driving. With how much attention Jess was giving to Shelby with her schooling, Luke hoped he was giving his own schooling the same amount. That kid read so much alone and was even smarter than he was. He knew Jess could do so much if he put in the effort.

As they headed back to the diner, Shelby remembered something else. "Oh, yeah. Guess wha' else, Dad."

"What?" he asked. More good news? This kid was on a roll!

"Look," Shelby opened her mouth, showing her teeth up to him. She touched one of them where Luke noticed she was able to wiggle it, back and forth. "I have my firs' loose too…" Shelby paused, realizing she was about to say one of the words her and Jess had been working on, to be able to say, correctly. "Too…" When she tried to pronounce the TH sound, Shelby struggled getting it out. Luke helped her out by slowly sounding out the word with her, reminding her on her tongue placement. After a few tries, she was able to get the word out, "too-th," along with some spit.

"Close enough," Luke gave her credit for trying at least. So his kid was now starting to lose her baby teeth. Wait! What was he supposed to do with it? Personally, Luke would just throw the tooth away once she lost it. But was that what you were supposed to do? And wasn't there some ritual kids did with their loss baby teeth? Something about money and hiding it somewhere?

Since it was Friday, Lorelai and Rory didn't stop by the diner that night. They did come for breakfast, Saturday morning. Thankfully, the tooth hadn't fallen out yet so he was safe in asking Lorelai what to do.

Pulling her to the side, looking around to make sure Shelby didn't sneak in on their conversation, he blurted out, "Shelby has her first loose tooth."

"Wow, really? That's awesome. Congrats." She then abruptly paused. "Wait. Her first loose tooth? Rory lost hers when she was six."

Luke shrugged, "Well, guess Shelby's a late bloomer."

"So why couldn't you tell me this out there?" Lorelai motioned out to the main part of the diner.

Taking a deep breath, Luke admitted, "I don't know what to do with it when the thing falls out."

"What? The tooth?"

"Yeah, I mean, the thing's gonna be covered in a bloody mess, along with saliva."

She shrugged, nonchalantly, "You clean it off and put it under her pillow."

"For what?"

"For the tooth fairy, duh," Lorelai told him as if it should be obvious.

"The tooth fairy?"

"Yeah, you know, the chick with the wings and a wand, who comes in while the kid's sleeping and replaces the tooth with money or some kind of small gift," she explained.

"Um, I have two problems with that," he told her.

"And what's that?"

"For one, Shelby's a light sleeper. If I tried to get her tooth from under her pillow, she is most definitely waking up."

"Well then, have her place her tooth beside her pillow or on her nightstand," Lorelai suggested. "That way it'll make the tooth fairy's job a whole lot easier and won't wake her."

"Okay, that's good and all, but I still have a problem," he pointed out. "If the kid doesn't believe in Santa Claus, what makes you think she'll believe in the tooth fairy?"

"Did that kid ruin everything for her, or did he just blab the truth about Saint Nick?" she asked.

"As far as I know, just about Santa. Her caseworker never mention any other fairy tale creature."

"Well, there's your answer. I bet if you tell her there's a tooth fairy, she just might believe you."

"Are you sure?" he asked, still not one hundred percent convinced.

"Come on. Who's to say fairies aren't real. Maybe they are," Lorelai shrugged, pushing him to go along with it. There was a fairy following the kid on that video game Shelby had somehow convinced Jess to play when she had trouble with it herself and she was enjoying _Harry Potter_. But did she know all that was just fantasy?

"What if she doesn't believe there's a tooth fairy?"

"Then, somehow convince her there is a tooth fairy," she told him. When Luke still wasn't convinced on going through with it, Lorelai added, "come on, Luke. The kid needs to believe in one of these things. That's what being a kid is all about. Getting presents from Santa and exchanging teeth for money from the tooth fairy. If Shelby can't have both, may as well at least give her one of them."

Letting out a long breath that time, he finally agreed. "Okay. Shelby and I will discuss it, and if I can somehow convince her the tooth fairy is real, then we will do the exchange."

"Atta boy," she reached out and playfully smacked his arm.

"How much is the tooth fairy supposed to leave?"

"Depends," she shrugged. "Molars are bigger, so they should usually go at least for a dollar, possibly two."

"It's one of her lower front teeth," Luke pointed out.

"Well, those can be pretty small. I'd say at least fifty cents, maybe seventy-five. A dollar if the tooth fairy is feeling generous. But whatever you have on ya would suffice, too."

Pulling out his wallet, Luke opened it up and checked to see how much he had. "I'm not giving her five dollars for one tiny tooth, and I'm certainly not giving her twenty dollars," he said after looking through the paper bills.

She pointed over her shoulder as she asked, "You can't make change from the register?"

Letting out another breath of air, Luke said, "Yeah, I guess. Plus, I think I may have some spare change stashed away somewhere, upstairs." He then put his wallet back in his back pocket.

"Well, there ya go. It's all settled." She then added, "hey, you're doing great, Luke. Really. Shelby's growing up so well and it's because of all the hard work you're doing. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I know." He forced a smile for her but in the back of his mind that Luke tried so hard to push down, a part of him couldn't help feel guilt for the decision he had made and hoped he was making the right choice. He never wanted this to happen and hoped it wouldn't, but Luke hated to see her hurting.

They returned to where Rory and Shelby were talking as Shelby was telling the older girl about doing well on her first test.

"That's great, Shelby," Rory praised her. "Good job."

Luke noticed the kid was holding her basketball on the table, even after he had told her balls don't belong on the tables. "Shell, what's wrong with this picture?" he asked her, hoping she would realize her mistake on her own.

Shelby looked up at him. "Huh?" she asked.

He held his hands on his sides, staring back at her. "I mean, what do you have that doesn't belong where it is, right now?"

Pondering on that thought, she looked forward. That's when her basketball caught her eye and quickly moved it to her lap. "Sorry, Dad."

"If you can't remember, I'll take it away. Got it?"

Shelby hugged her ball at the sound of it being taken away. He assured her he wasn't taking her basketball this time, but told her to put it on the floor while she ate breakfast, setting her plate on the table in front of her he had grabbed upon returning.

"So, Shelby," Lorelai changed the subject, getting Shelby's attention once she had set her ball under the table, holding it in place with her feet. "A little birdie told me you have your first loose tooth."

Shelby had picked up her fork to start eating. "No it didn'. Birds can' talk," she pointed out.

Lorelai closed her eyes for a brief moment, muttering something that wasn't clear before opening them again. Nonetheless, she held a smile for the kid. Before she continued with her thought, though, Rory spoke up, inputting, "actually, some birds can learn to speak, like parrots. They can repeat what they hear."

"Your making ta' up, Rory." Shelby shook her head as she said, "Only pee-po can talk."

"No, it's been proven," the teen insisted.

Shelby turned her head towards her dad for confirmation. "Is i' true, Dad?"

"Actually, yeah, kiddo. Rory's right," he confirmed it. "Some birds can learn to talk. In fact, your second cousin has a parrot that knows two words."

She gave him a puzzled look. "Second cousin?"

"She's my cousin, so she's yours and Jess' second cousin. When you grow up and have a kid of your own, they'll be Jess' second cousin." He tried to explain it as best as he could so Shelby understood. When he was finished, she accepted it with a nod.

Lorelai shifted the conversation back to what she had initially wanted to say. "Anyway, are you excited for the tooth fairy to come give you money when you lose your tooth?"

"I know ta…" Shelby had to pause to make sure to say the word, correctly, "...too-" she still struggled on getting the TH sound out, but it somewhat came out, along with more spit, "...fairy isn' real." Luke's heart dropped at the sound of Shelby knowing the truth about the tooth fairy as well. He saw Lorelai give her a heartbroken look.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart."

Shelby just shrugged one shoulder. "One time, a big kid los' hers and ta fos-ter mom came in and took i' and lef' the money. She didn' know I woke up and saw her, toe."

"That must have been sad for you," said Rory, sympathetically.

She just shrugged once more and started eating. At least this time it wasn't anyone who ruined it for her on purpose. After all, the kid was a light sleeper. It was still sad she had to find out so young.

"You didn't tell any of the other kids, did you?" Lorelai asked.

Shelby shook her head. "I never talked," she reminded her. "But even if I did, I wouldn'. She was really happy about her five dollars."

Luke's head jerked. "They gave the kid five dollars for one tooth?" he questioned.

She nodded that time up at him. "I used to ge' ta, too."

"For what?"

She shrugged a third time. "Because we wen' to ta 'tore and t'ey said we could ge' wha'ever we wan-ted."

Rory leaned her arm on the table, "So, what did you buy?"

"Nuh-ting. I was always too 'cared to ge' some-ting so I had a lo' of money saved up when I moved."

"How come you were scared?"

Shelby shrugged again. "I don' know. I' was jus' hard."

"What happened to the money you had saved," asked Lorelai, also eating.

Another shrug. "I tink t'ey 'till have i'." She perked up a little. "Bu' i' okay. I have more money saved now in my savings." Luke smiled at that last part, having taught her about having a savings account.

Shelby reached over to pick up her glass of orange juice, taking a drink, and set it right back down. She wiped her upper lip on the back of her hand.

"So, Shelby," Lorelai said, "if you know the tooth fairy isn't real, what would you like to do about your baby teeth?"

"I already earn my own money anyway," she shrugged once more.

An idea must have clicked on in Rory's mind. "Ooh, what if you pretend the tooth fairy is real and maybe your dad can leave you a small gift for your tooth? That way, you can still get something for them and experience an old kid tradition."

"Sure."

"That's not a bad idea," said Lorelai, and looked up at Luke, "and we can get a tooth fairy costume for your dad, there. We'll have to find big enough tights, though."

"I am not dressing up like the tooth fairy," he told the woman, firmly. No way was he wearing tights and whatever else the tooth fairy wore.

Lorelai gave him a sour look. "You're no fun," she informed him.

Shelby stuck up for her dad. "You can' make someone do wha' tey don' wan' to do," she told Lorelai, but then added, "even if i' would be funny." Luke gave her a stern glare which she told him, "love you, Daddy."

Telling her to eat her breakfast, Luke turned and walked away to attend to the other customers, playfully grabbing at her head, knowing she liked to tease him as much as Lorelai and Rory did. Shelby had once informed him he was funny.

The weekend came and went and the second week of the school year started which meant the first units of second grade started, but the tooth still remained. Shelby liked that her teacher tried to make the lessons fun and played games that incorporated what they were learning and was even looking out for Shelby, making sure she understood the material.

Unlike Mrs. Avery, Mr. Harris only gave homework if the student couldn't complete the work during class. Though, regardless if Shelby finished or not, Luke still wanted her to bring it home so he could check it before she turned it in. But with Mr. Harris, he was going over it with her, one on one while the class was completing the worksheet. It was a load off from Jess since he seemed to be busier than he was last year.

Monday afternoon, after Shelby finished her homework, she sat at the counter, playing her new game for her Gameboy, she bought with her own money. Luke had pointed out she had just got new games when she traded her old ones, but if that's what she wanted to do with her money that she earned. Plus, he knew it would be awhile before she asked to buy another one as she would be focused on the new ones she had. This one was also a _Pokemon_ game, but was a sister game to the _Gold_ and _Silver_ games that came out the year before, just with a few added features, including finally able to choose to be either a boy or girl. Shelby picked the girl, naming the character after herself, and since she chose the grass starter in her _Silver_ game, Shelby chose the fire starter.

"Dad," she said when he came back around the counter from his rounds.

"Yeah?" he acknowledged her.

"How do you 'pell your name?"

He looked up from the writing pad checking off past orders. "You mean Dad, or my real name?"

"Your real name," Shelby replied.

"Well, sound it out," Luke suggested. "You know my name, right?"

She nodded. "I's Luke, righ'?"

"Yep," he told her and slowly sounded it out for her. "What's the first sound?"

Shelby mimicked her dad a few times until she finally said, "U?"

"No." He shook his head and sounded out his name once more. "What makes that sound?"

She thought on it before it came to her. "Oh! L?"

Luke smiled, proudly. "Yep," which she inputted the L into her game. "What's the next letter?" he asked and sounded it out once more, putting emphasis on the next letter sound.

"U," she said more confidently that time.

"Correct," he told her. "How about the next one?" Luke said it again, putting emphasis on the K that time, having Shelby do the same.

"Um, C?"

Luke shook his head, continually. "No. What else makes that sound?"

"K?"

He nodded that time and decided to give her the E since it was a silent letter, and explained some sounds in words and names are not heard. "Why did you want to spell my name?" Luke asked while Shelby continued playing her game.

Looking up at him again, Shelby replied, "Because I'm naming my 'tar-ter af-ter you and I didn' wan' to call him, Dad because ta' would be weird."

Luke had to smile at that. "It would, huh?"

She nodded and once she was able to, showed him what the Pokemon looked like. It looked like a shrew with fire coming out of its back with dark blue fur on top and a tan underbelly. Its eyes were also shut. He recognized it from the cartoon. "That's…"

"Cyndaquil," she reminded him. "He's a fire type."

"Oh," he nodded and turned his attention to Tom, who was sitting there, deciding on what to order. Once Tom ordered a ham on rye which Luke wrote down to give to Caesar, he started towards the kitchen.

A kid around ten or eleven came in asking for an Egg Cream that Luke had no clue what that was. When Tom mentioned it was milk and soda water mixed with flavoring that he used to get at Coney Island, Luke told the kid to go to Coney Island.

Next, a kid Luke recognized from Shelby's class came in, greeting Shelby first, who just waved back. "Shelby's Dad, can I get something to go?"

"You got money?" he asked of him.

"Uh huh."

"What do you want?"

"A black cow," the kid replied, leaning his arms on the counter.

Luke groaned at the second weird-sounding name mentioned.

"It's just root beer and ice cream," he told him.

"Root beer and ice cream?" Luke asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Uh huh."

"Well, I can do that," Luke admitted, accepting the order since he had the ingredients needed to make a Black Cow and wrote the order down. "Geez, Shell. You passing out flyers at recess, or something?" He decided to tease her about it since it had been only kids coming in.

Shelby stared at her dad with her puzzled look and shook her head at a slow pace.

"Just messing with ya, kiddo," he assured her before her classmate added he wanted it made the old fashioned way on the premise. That was when Luke had to object to it.

Kirk came in at that moment, asking if Luke could whip him up something real fast.

"What, Kirk?"

"A Chocolate Phosphate."

Leaning foward on the counter, Luke looked Kirk straight in the eye, serious now. "Okay, what the hell is this?" he demanded "Why do you want a Phosphate?"

Nervously, Kirk answered, "Because nothing says refreshment like a Phosphate."

But Luke was seeing right through it. "This is Taylor, isn't it? Is he behind this?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"Okay, then you tell me," he turned on Shelby's classmate, "and remember, if you lie, you'll go to hell."

The kid stared back at him, looking a little frightened by this point. "He didn't say you'd get mad," he said, giving it away that Taylor was indeed behind all of this.

"Come on," Luke said as he made his way around the counter. Letting Shelby know he'll be right back, he took the kid and Kirk by the arms, leading them next door to confront Taylor.

"What is this?" Taylor asked of them.

"That's my question," Luke told him and demanded an explanation. Taylor tried to deny it at first, stating he had no idea what Luke was talking about. "They're asking you for Phosphates, and Egg Creams, and Black Cows, and they already gave you up, so tell me what's going on."

"Who finked?" Taylor asked of the two which Kirk was quick to point out it was the kid, who called him, a snitch.

"It's not the kid's fault, Taylor," Luke stepped in while the two were arguing. "Now, what is this all about?"

"Well, you are so close-minded to new things, Luke," he explained, "that I decided to make an admittedly desperate attempt to convince you of the need for something that I think is a terrific idea."

"Which is?"

"An old fashioned, turn-of-the-century soda shop."

"Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi," Luke said, rolling his head away.

"It's just the kind of wholesome hang today's teens need to keep them off the streets," he stated, getting worked up over it. "I mean, don't you want your daughter to grow up in a safe environment?"

"And our streets are so wild and out of control," Luke told him in a sarcastic manner.

Taylor nodded at that as he said, "If you ask me, yes." Raising a finger, Taylor made his way around Luke, over to one of the check-outs, "and I have proof." He handed him an envelope of photos.

"What are these?"

Leaning on his left hand, Taylor replied, "Surveillance photos of town goings on. The dark side of Stars Hollow, Luke. Not a pretty picture."

Luke had taken them out of the envelope, scanning through the photos. They were mostly of kids on skateboards that he pointed out to the older man.

"Slaloming around pop bottles," Taylor pointed around behind him, "right down the middle of the street." Facing forward, he added, "I'm telling you, Luke. If we don't quit furnishing these skateboarding Z-boys with a _moral_ distraction, they're gonna turn Stars Hollow into Dogtown!"

Luke was still looking through the photos when one in particular caught his eye. "This is the space next to the diner."

Taylor seemed caught. "I know," he said.

Luke stared at him in realization. "I own the space next to the diner," he reminded him.

"I know."

He snapped at Taylor. "You want to open up the soda shop in the space next to the diner?"

"It's the only one that's appropriate," Taylor pointed out.

"Taylor, no. No, no, no, and every day, from now on till the end of my life," he pointed at his chest, "I am gonna come in here and say, Taylor, no." Without letting Taylor get a word in, Luke added, "and when I die, I'm gonna have them freeze me next to Ted Williams. And when they find the cure to what I died of and they unfreeze me, my first words are gonna be, 'how's Ted?' followed closely by, 'Taylor, no.'"

"But the space is empty."

"Not for long."

Taylor leaned on his hand again as he asked, "And what are your plans for it?"

Luke leaned in to reply, "A skateboard and pop bottle shop." Straightening up, Taylor told him, that it wasn't funny before he continued. "With in-house experts to teach the craft of street slaloming."

"Still not funny."

"Well, I'm not in a very funny mood!" he raised his voice a little and stormed out of there. Kirk followed after him, actually believing Luke was serious about the store. Of course he went along in a sarcastic manner.

When he got back to the diner, Luke informed Shelby, she was learning to skateboard, having to gain her attention from her game, first and questioned why.

"Just go with me on this," was all he said.

The next day, Jess had volunteered to pick Shelby up from school, taking her to their spot for an hour two before finally coming home which he had her tell Luke what happened at school that day.

Luke was quick to worry, thinking something bad happened to her, or she had a rough day. "What happened, kiddo?"

"Go on, Scout. Tell him what the kid said." Jess had his arms folded, staring at Luke, trying to stifle a snicker.

"Hunter told everyone abou' when he came in, yesterday, and so now you're the 'caries' dad in the second grade," she told him.

"What?" Luke stared at his daughter in disbelief.

She nodded.

"Congratulations, _Uncle_ Luke, you made a _great_ impression on a bunch of second graders," Jess said, enjoying the moment, receiving a glare and told Shelby to go put her backpack away.

This was just not his week. At least Shelby was still doing fine.


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

The tooth ended up being stubborn and taking a while to fall out, even though Shelby kept messing with it, with both her tongue and her finger. All week, Shelby had been asking for apples for her afterschool snack, making sure to bite and chew on that side. It wasn't like she wanted a visit from the "tooth fairy" a.k.a her dad. She just wanted it out already. Just the feeling of having something loose in her mouth, drove Shelby crazy.

"Shell, will you stop messing with your tooth," Luke told her while the three of them were at the dinner table, having dinner, together. It was one of the rare times Jess has been home in a few weeks. "It'll fall out when it's ready."

"I can' help i'," Shelby replied in a frustrated tone once she had removed her finger from the tooth. "I's bugging me."

"I might have a solution," Jess inputted into the conversation.

"Wha'?" She looked over at her cousin.

He shrugged. "Best way to lose a tooth that I know of… Being punched in the mouth. That'll knock it right out." Jess smirked at that to show he was teasing.

"Bu' ten you migh' knock out my o'ter tee'."

Luke stared over at his daughter. "That's what you're concerned about, Shell?" he questioned. "Getting the other teeth knocked out?"

She looked back at him. "Yeah."

"Just that? Nothing about the fact your cousin just offered to punch you in the mouth."

Shelby shrugged, holding it. "To help knock my too… out," she said, some spit flying out of her mouth when she tried to say, tooth.

He let out a slight sigh, dropping his head, briefly. Luke told them both to finish eating, and that there will no punching of any kind.

The next day, which the stubborn tooth still did not fall out, Shelby helped out her dad in the diner for a short while before she wandered over to him. There was a bit of a lull and things were kind of boring.

"Dad."

Luke was making a fresh batch of coffee. "Yeah, Shell?" he responded, scooping coffee grounds into the pot.

"Um...Can I, um… Can I go ride my bike?"

"You mean out front?" he asked, looking over at her. "Sure. Give me a minute and I'll carry it downstairs for ya." Luke finished scooping the coffee grounds, sliding the pot back into place.

Shelby shook her head. "No, no' jus' ou' fron'. I wan' to ride my bike all the way to the inn so I can say hello to Lor-lai," she told him.

Luke froze. He looked over at his daughter wondering if he heard right. "You want to do what?"

"I wan' to ride my bike to the inn to see Lor-lai. Can I?" she repeated.

"Shell, you're only seven," he pointed out.

"So?" Shelby shrugged. "All ta o-ter kids ge' to."

He stared at her. Get to what? Is the Independence Inn the new hang-out for kids, these days?

"Hunter was here by himself, remember?"

"If Hunter and the other kids jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too?" Luke asked.

Shelby just blinked at him, puzzled. "I don' wan' to jump off a bridge. I wan' to ride my bike to see Lor-lai. Please, Dad?"

"Aw, come on, Shell. Can't you wait another year? I promise, this time, next year, I might consider it."

A pitiful, puppy dog look appeared on her face as she stared up at him. It made the guy squirm.

Miss Patty happened to be in the diner at the moment. She overheard Shelby's request and spoke up, "Come on, Luke. What's the worst that can happen?" giving the kid some help.

"Yeah," Babette agreed. "It's a small town, and you know everyone would keep an eye on her for ya."

"I don't know," he said, unsure about letting Shelby go alone. Luke couldn't believe this day has come where his little girl would want to go explore on her own. He'd hoped he still had at least another couple years.

"Please, Dad?" Shelby continued to plead. The town was fairly small where everyone knew each other, and would definitely keep an eye out for her. Plus, news traveled fast, if something were to happen, Luke would know within five minutes. It still didn't stop Luke from worrying about Shelby being out there, alone, though. "I promise to be careful, and I know to look bo' ways before crossing the 'tree'"

Luke took a long time to think, debating letting her go, in his head. It scared him to think of his little buddy out there, all alone. Sure, the Inn wasn't that far away. A lot could happen between the diner and the inn. He tried to think how old him and Liz were once they were able to go off by themselves. Luke remembered taking his sister next door to buy some candy from Doose's when they were kids while hanging around their father's store. He must have been around Shelby's age. But that was next door, not on the other side of town. But with some encouragement from Miss Patty and Babette, Luke reluctantly agreed to let Shelby go. Though, he had her call first, to make sure Lorelai was working and not at home, so in case the bike ride wouldn't be for nothing. Also, to make sure they weren't busy or anything.

Dialing the Independence Inn's phone number, Luke passed the phone to Shelby. Michel must have been working the front desk.

Shelby hesitated at first, but with a look over at her dad, she asked, "Um...is Lor-lai tear?" She was still getting used to Michel since she wasn't around him often, though Shelby has come to nickname the guy, Michel the Grouch, like Oscar the Grouch. Things were quiet as Shelby stood there, waiting which she informed her dad, she was on hold. Eventually, Lorelai must have come to the phone. "Hi, Lor-lai," Shelby greeted into the phone with much more confidence than she had, talking to Michel. There was a pause before she said, "I wan-ted to ride my bike to come see you, bu' Dad said I had to call you firs' to make sure i' was okay… Uh huh, Dad says I can go all by myself. Please?" Shelby suddenly smiled a huge smile. "Tank you, Lor-lai… See you la-ter." Not able to reach to hang up the phone, she held it up to Luke. "Here, Dad."

Luke took the phone, automatically putting it to his ear. "Hello?" All he heard was a dial tone. "There's nobody there, kiddo," he told Shelby.

"I was giving i' so you can hang it up for me."

He reached over and hung up the phone. "Lorelai say it was okay?"

Shelby nodded. "Can you ge' my bike, please, Dad?" she pleaded.

"Sure, kiddo." Even though his head was screaming not to let Shelby go, Luke took her upstairs where her bike was sitting in the hallway. Telling her to grab her helmet off from where it was hanging on the handlebar, Luke lifted it and carried the bike downstairs. He had Shelby get the door for him as they headed outside. Luke double checked the brakes to make sure they still worked, as well as made sure there was enough air in the tires. He also made sure Shelby put her helmet on and that it was on, snug. "Now, remember, Shell. Look out for cars and obey all traffic signs, and don't talk to anyone you don't know. Got it?"

Shelby nodded.

"Do you remember our phone number and address?"

Again, she nodded, reciting the both of them.

"Good." Luke forced a smile and dug out some change to use for a payphone, telling her to keep it in her pocket. He then pulled his little buddy in, squeezing her in a firm hug, kissing her cheek. "Be careful, kiddo." Luke had to force himself to let go. "Pay close attention to your surroundings."

"I will, Dad." Shelby reached over and kissed her dad on the cheek. Luke held a gentle hand along her side when she did, gently rubbing it. Shelby went over to her bike, kicking the kickstand up. She swung her leg over, sitting right on the bike seat. "Bye, Dad," she waved as Shelby kicked off, pedaling forward. It took all he had not to stop her as Luke watched her pedal in the direction of the Independence Inn.

A lump formed in his throat as he watched until he couldn't see Shelby. Sure enough, like Miss Patty said, people's heads turned, keeping an eye out for his buddy. Even Taylor poked his head out just as Shelby rode passed his store. Even knowing everyone was keeping an eye out for her, it still scared him to death.

Shelby ended up being gone for two and a half hours. When she did return, Lorelai and Rory were with her, on either side as Shelby pushed her bike, home.

Luke couldn't help blow a sigh of relief, glad she was home, safe. It had been a long, stressful two and a half hours. He went over and held the door open for them. Once the girls were inside, Luke followed them.

"How was it, Shelby?" he asked, wanting details and hoped nothing happened.

"Grea'" she replied, cheerfully. "I rode my bike all ta way tear and even helped ou' a' ta inn."

"That's great," Luke praised, happily. "So, no accidents or anything?"

She shook her head as Shelby said, "Nope. Can I do i' again. Maybe to E'tan and Alan's house?"

"Sure, if it's alright with their parents."

Shelby ambushed him, hugging her dad around the legs.

Towards the end of dinner, the requests kept coming. While the girls chatted, Shelby had asked when the next time she could come over and spend the night since it had been awhile since she last slept over. Lorelai explained her and Rory had a lunch to go to, to help with getting Rory into Harvard, but since there was a town meeting later that night, maybe they could pick her up right afterwards, if it was okay with Luke which it was.

The rest of the week came and went. Though, not fast enough, in Shelby's tiny mind, wanting to go spend time with Lorelai and Rory. Thankfully, she had things to keep her busy, including music lessons with Miss Patty, Thursday and Friday. Whenever Luke asked what Shelby was working on with Miss Patty, she wouldn't tell him. A few hours before the meeting, Shelby asked if she could go over to Miss Patty's. Luke felt a little better letting her go there since Miss Patty's was closer than the inn was, and ended up meeting Shelby there.

"Saved you a sea', Dad," she told him when Luke walked over where Shelby was sitting, with her foot up on the chair next to her and moved it so he could sit down.

Luke leaned in to kiss the side of her head. "Thanks, kiddo," he thanked her and sat down.

"Your welcome," she replied. "I'm also saving two for Lor-lai and Rory, scooting down a few chairs.

"You are, huh?" Luke smirked at her.

Shelby nodded.

Once everyone but the Gilmores arrived, Taylor started the meeting as usual. They took care of a few things before Lorelai and Rory finally arrived which Shelby waved her over, pointing out the two chairs she had saved for them, returning next to her dad so they could sit. That was when Taylor brought the last topic to attention. Something that grabbed Luke's attention real fast, making him shoot to his feet in protest.

Taylor was still pushing to have his old fashioned soda shop opened in town, having Kirk unveil the model that he had built, explaining to the crowd all about it, though everyone was more focused on the model, pointing out the size of the horse.

"You're missing the big picture here, townsfolk," Taylor finally said, in frustration. "Now, this wonderful business belongs in Stars Hollow, whether Luke rents the space willingly or not."

Luke shrugged his hands out as he asked, "How would I not rent it willingly."

Leaning on the podium, Taylor replied with, "I'm talking about eminent domain, my friend. Check the town's bylaws."

Luke tightly folded his arms. He couldn't believe this guy.

"If a three-fourth majority finds it necessary to use a space for a specific function, the landowner must concede."

"That's for taking over houses to turn into hospitals," he pointed out, angrily, "during a national emergency like the Civil War. If you wanna turn this place into a Civil War hospital, be my guest."

Taylor pointed out, "Some would attest that my soda shop is going to offer on the same level as the comfort a hospital can provide."

"You're gonna need a hospital, Taylor," Luke pointed at him, in a threatening way.

Lorelai called out, "Hit him!"

"Which one?" asked Rory.

She shrugged, lowering her voice, a little. "Either one."

"Come on, Luke," Taylor continued to try and convince Luke, and waved his hand towards his model. "This shop is based on the original soda shop that was in town, eighty years ago! Don't you see? You are preventing the town…"

Luke cut him off. "From moving backwards," he said, directed at everyone else. "Who here wants to do that?"

There were some murmurs among the crowd before Lorelai spoke in a soft, high-pitched voice, "We like ice cream."

Luke turned to her. "Oh, come on," he told her, holding his arms out.

Shelby, who was quite the master of Lego architecture, had been checking out the model. He turned to his last hope, knowing his little buddy would at least take his side. But though the kid usually did, this time wasn't the case, who was also a fan of ice cream. Great, so now Taylor had not only Lorelai and Rory on board, but his own kid, as well. Luke wasn't going down that easy and told Taylor to be prepared to pay through the nose, which Shelby pointed out with a puzzled look that it sounded disgusting and painful.

With a quiet sigh, he informed her, "It's an expression, kiddo."

With excitement, Taylor announced, "We have our soda shop, everybody!" Everyone cheered and applauded. "But before we dismiss, Miss Patty and Shelby would like your attention for just a few moments." He stepped down as Shelby shyly moved up the steps.

Luke watched in confusion what was going on as Miss Patty whispered to her.

Lorelai leaned over to ask, "What's going on?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is, Shelby came here early long before the meeting." Miss Patty went over to the piano, sitting down on the bench while Shelby remained in front of the podium, holding her hands behind her back. She was looking out at everyone, nervously.

Luke had retaken his seat.

Miss Patty looked back, over at Shelby. "You ready, sweetheart?"

Shelby looked over at the woman and nodded, before looking back at everyone. She stole a glance over at her dad. He smiled for her and saw her relax, a little. Miss Patty started playing which Luke recognized as the piano music from one of Shelby's favorite songs, _One Voice_ , though Shelby did not start singing right away.

Her chest was moving a little faster, She wiped her eyes on her arms before shutting them as if she was listening to the music, then after a few moments, Shelby started to sing out loud. Her very first performance alone. Her soft singing voice echoed through the studio as she sang the words. Everyone else was quietly listening as Shelby stood there with her hands still behind her back the whole time and not opening her eyes at all, keeping in tune to the music. In fact, she didn't open them until Shelby was finished and everyone applauded. Not even Shelby couldn't help smile around at them and took a bow, before pointing towards Miss Patty, to send some applaud her way. Afterwards, Shelby stepped down the stairs as everyone made to leave.

Luke was still in shock, but he managed to ask, "What was all that about?"

"Miss Pa'ty and I t'ough' to do tis to help me pra'tice singing in fron' of pe-po," she explained. "We've been pra'ticing twice a week for tis."

Miss Patty came over at that point. "Don't worry, honey. I didn't make her. This was with Shelby's permission," she assured him before he could ask.

"That was amazing, Shelby," Rory complimented which Shelby thanked her for.

"Hey, Shelby. You think when you become a famous musician you can introduce me to all the greats?" Lorelai asked.

"You mean like George Jones and Johnny Cash?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of Bruce Springsteen," she corrected.

Shelby shook her head. "I don' know who ta is. Does he sing country?"

"Uh, no." Turning to Luke, she asked him, "Good Lord. What are you teaching this kid?"

"Surprisingly, I did not teach her about country music oldies. She knew them already," he admitted.

"Well, anyway," Lorelai turned back to Shelby. "You ready to party at our house, sweetheart?"

Shelby nodded.

"Come on, kiddo. Let's go grab your stuff before you leave." Luke took her back to the diner and upstairs while Lorelai and Rory stayed around the dance studio, mingling, meeting them there. After a quick bite, the girls left. But not before a hug and kiss good-bye between father and daughter.

"Are you mad a' me, Dad?"

"For what?" he asked.

"For taking Taylor's side," she said, giving him an ashamed look, barely meeting his eyes.

"Of course not, kiddo. Not at you." Luke held onto her sides. "I don't expect us to agree on everything, especially when there's ice cream involved." He smiled for her.

Shelby returned it.

"Besides, as landlord, I plan to give Taylor, plenty of hard times." Chuckling, Luke leaned in, touching his forehead to hers, making Shelby laugh, as well. He then stood up and let her climb into the backseat of Lorelai's jeep. Once they exchanged "see yas", Lorelai pulled away from the curb, heading for their house. Luke watched until the jeep was out of sight.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: In response to the two guest reviews about the genealogy lesson, I was going on what I know about cousins. I did Google it after you told me and asked some friends who said the same thing as I did. It's all confusing so let's just say no one's wrong. So I'll keep it the way I had it. But I appreciate the help!**_


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Shelby had a ball staying over at Lorelai and Rory's house. She even ended up putting on a little concert for them, which Lorelai gloated about to Luke. That is until Luke pointed out Shelby had already done a show for both him and Jess a couple times.

Lorelai turned on the kid. "You said we were special."

"You are," she replied, innocently.

"I meant about only giving us a show."

"I didn' know ta' was wha' you mean'," Shelby said, shaking her head, repeatedly and gave her a look as if Lorelai was disappointed in her or something. It was Rory who caught on first and assured Shelby, her mom was just teasing her, and Lorelai backed her daughter up, touching Shelby's hand that was laying on the table, giving it a gentle squeeze

Eventually, over time, though a little slow and was probably one of the last to know, Jess found out Shelby was now adventuring out on her own, including to Ethan and Alan's house. He seemed indifferent to his "baby sister" going off on her own, but never expressed his opinion on the matter. The self defense lessons started up again, though. At one point, one lesson ended with Shelby kicking her cousin in a very sensitive area that literally brought him to his knees. Luke had to help Jess over to the chair and grab him an ice pack. Shelby also apologized profusely and promised any favor he wanted to make up for the amount of pain she inflicted.

"No problem," he struggled to assure her before letting slip, "Didn't want kids anyway." It ended up producing a puzzled look in which Shelby questioned, "wha' does kids have to do wi' i'?" Exchanging a panicked stare with Luke, they then tried distracting the kid to something else so they wouldn't have to explain what Jess meant.

* * *

The summer season finally came to an end and fall was now gracing the town with its presence, which also meant another season to play basketball. As soon as Luke asked what sport she wanted to play, Shelby blurted out she wanted to continue basketball. Actually, Luke couldn't even finish his sentence. She was that excited. As soon as possible, Luke registered Shelby for a team, getting on the green team, now called, the Ninja Turtles.

To their surprise, Shelby's teacher was also volunteering as a coach and ended up also being her coach.

Upon entering the gymnasium, Shelby made a fast dash for her teacher, stopping in front of him. She was smiling, happy to have Mr. Harris as her basketball coach when Luke had caught up to her.

"Hey, Shelby," he greeted. "Should have known you'd be playing basketball." Turning to Luke, "Shelby has written a ton of stories and drawn a lot of pictures about basketball."

Luke smiled down at his daughter. "Yeah, she just got into it at the end of the last school year. Since then, it's been mostly basketball this, basketball that. At least she'll still watch baseball with me."

Shelby smiled up at her dad. She was wearing her uniform from last season, along with her baseball cap.

Mr. Harris chuckled. "Yeah, I've heard about that, too. Shelby, why don't you go warm up with the other kids before we get started?" he suggested.

Shelby turned her head to look over at a few boys shooting basketballs. She turned back to give a nod, but Luke could tell she was a little nervous going over there. Mr. Harris passed her the basketball he was holding before Shelby slowly made her way over. They watched as she walked over, waiting shyly for a turn.

"By the way, there's something I've been meaning to ask."

"What's that?" asked Luke, peeling his eyes away to look over at his daughter's teacher.

"I've noticed quite a lot of topics Shelby writes about aside from basketball. You, her cousin, Ethan, Alan. And I've also noticed she'll write a lot about someone named Lorelai and Rory, though I'm not sure who they are. I assumed they were friends from another class, then she mentioned they love to drink a lot of coffee."

"Those are friends of ours," he explained with a chuckle. "They stop by the diner, almost every day. Shelby loves them."

"I can see that by how highly she writes of them, along with you and Jess. She mentioned someone named Bailey, a few times, as well."

"Bailey was a mentor friend of hers back when she was in foster care." Luke then gave a short anecdote about who Bailey was and what happened to her.

Mr. Harris nodded. "Yeah, Shelby mentioned something about that," he said when Luke finished. More of the kids were arriving by that point, so Mr. Harris had to cut the conversation, short.

The air turning chilly didn't keep Shelby from spending time outside, practicing with her basketball. Almost every day after school, she was out there, as well as the weekends she was home. When Shelby wasn't home, she was either at her friends' house, at the Crap Shack or inn, or hanging out with Jess at their spot or at the bookstore. At the moment, they were making their way through the _Harry Potter_ book series, now on the third book.

During the week, Shelby traded between basketball practice and music lessons with Ms. Patty, who had started teaching her how to play the piano. Shelby tried some dance lessons, but didn't enjoy it as she wasn't really a dancing type. Every once and awhile, Luke still gave her guitar lessons so Shelby had knowledge for two instruments, so far.

But through all of both Luke and Shelby's busy lives, Luke still made sure to find time to bond even if it was teaching a life skill. Whenever he worked on his truck, Shelby would be right there beside him on an upside down milk crate, learning the trade, herself so when one day she had her own car, she'd know how to fix any problem that would occur without having to spend a whole lot of money for a mechanic. At one point, Gypsy had walked by, overhearing the two and questioned about him not trusting her as a mechanic which Luke quickly assured he did.

Aside from the life skills, Luke found time to play catch with his little buddy, and now, they played one-on-one with Shelby mostly winning. Though, sometimes, Luke scored a victory now and then. It was all in good fun and the memories they were making was what counted in his book.

Of course, Luke was there at every game, cheering his little buddy on. To Shelby's dismay, Jess missed the first couple games due to some other important thing he had to do, but managed to make it to the third and fourth game. After the fourth game, it really didn't matter if he was there or not since Shelby ended up benched for the remainder of the season due to an accident during the fourth game.

Lorelai and Rory had managed to make it to the game, as well. They came to the first two games, but missed the third. The rest of Shelby's cheering section was there, of course, cheering as Shelby shuffled around the court. This time, it only took two games before she was moving her feet and making a grab for the ball. The kids were still young enough, they were still grasping the passing concept and trying to make baskets on their own even if it would have been wise to pass to a teammate. It was something Mr. Harris worked on with them.

On a particular play, most of the team made to grab at the ball, including Shelby. Shelby ended up getting knocked backwards, landing right on her left arm. From Luke's view, he could barely make out her elbow collide with the floor. His little buddy quickly cradled her elbow in her other hand and wasn't getting up.

Lorelai must have noticed it, too as she stated, "Something's wrong," as she maneuvered her head around the kids walking in front of her view which Babette added, "Yeah, she fell pretty hard there," also trying to see around some the constantly moving children.

Luke was about to yell over for Mr. Harris to call a time-out but he beat him to it.

Kirk blew on his whistle once, motioning a time-out sign with his hands as he called it out. "Time-out, Ninja Turtles!"

With time-out in session, Luke sprang to his feet, along with Jess, and hurried to Shelby's side. Mr. Harris and Kirk had also gone over to check on her, who was still cradling her elbow. Tears were in her eyes, but neither of them could get a word out of her. Not until her dad and cousin were there, on either side of her.

"My el-bo really hur's," she whimpered, softly when the guys lowered their ears to her.

"Can you move it, kiddo?" Luke asked.

Shelby shook her head, squeezing her eyes, tight as she sat, hunched over. He looked down at her arm. Around her elbow Luke could see some swelling. It was Mr. Harris who told Luke her arm might be broken. In fact, he was positive it was.

Being extremely careful, both Luke and Jess helped Shelby to her feet and led her off the court, heading for the nearest exits where Mr. Harris had rushed over after bringing an ice pack from the team's first aid kit. As they were making their way over, Lorelai and Rory hurried over to catch them.

"Is everything alright?" Rory was the one to ask.

Luke answered her. "Her elbow might be broken." He didn't even stop as Luke ushered Shelby out of the gymnasium. A part of him wanted to scoop her up and rush the kid out to his truck, but was afraid any sudden movement could do even more damage.

The tears were constantly pouring by this point as Shelby clutched her arm.

"You're gonna be okay, Scout," Jess was assuring her, walking alongside her, opposite from where Luke was walking. It was amazing the amount of concern the young man had for his little cousin. Then again, he did say he made sure Rory was okay, back during the accident.

Once they reached the truck, Luke very carefully lifted Shelby inside, having her scoot over to the middle. The kid could have been one of those ancient porcelain dolls from fifty years ago by how careful he was handling her.

While Luke started the truck and fastened his seatbelt, Jess was helping Shelby fastened hers, then made sure to keep her calm and held the ice pack on her elbow for her, as Luke pulled out of the parking space and headed in the direction of the nearest hospital. He drove a little over the speed limit, knowing a broken bone could be severe if it damaged an artery or nerve.

"Can you feel your fingers, kiddo?" he decided to ask when Luke remembered.

Shelby was still cradling her arm, squeezing her eyes, tight again.

Jess pointed out she was digging her fingernails into the arm that was cradling her injured arm. If she was able to do that then Shelby still had feeling, so thankfully, there wasn't any nerve damage. Luke's heart was still pounding against his chest as his worries skyrocketed. He had broken his own arm before and knowing the complications that came with a broken bone, made his anxiety reach record height.

It was a twenty minute drive to the hospital. Luke parked as close to the main doors as possible before sliding out to lift Shelby out as well, still treating her as if she was a fifty-year-old porcelain doll. He actually ended up having to carry her inside, lifting her on his left side so Shelby could wrap her good arm around him. Luke made sure to be careful of her injured arm, though.

There was a line at the check-in desk so they had to wait. Luke tried his best to be patient and wait their turn, but knowing his little buddy was hurt and in her own distress, wasn't helping any. While they waited, Jess tried to offer to go get Shelby a candybar from out of a vending machine he had spotted nearby, but Luke told him not to, in case Shelby had to have surgery done.

It was forty minutes before they had their turn. Jess had wandered over after a while to sit in one of the waiting room chairs, checking out some of the magazines, tossing them back on the chair or small table where he had found them shortly after skimming through each one.

Shelby had settled down after fifteen minutes, holding her head on her dad's shoulder. Her right arm hung, limply behind him as her left gripped both of Luke's shirts, lightly. Luke brushed a hand along her side in a soothing motion. Maybe it was a good thing there was a wait, because once it was their turn, Luke was relaxed enough to explain to the receptionist sitting behind the desk about what had happened.

The receptionist had Luke fill out his daughter's information and tried to ask Shelby some questions about how she was feeling. Since it was someone new, Shelby wasn't speaking up, so the receptionist resorted to yes or no answers where Shelby could nod or shake her head. Once she had all the information the receptionist needed, she printed a wristband before standing to her feet, asking for Shelby's wrist.

Shelby lifted her right arm and held it out towards the receptionist, to attach the wristband around her wrist. Since there didn't seem to be any concerning damage, there was yet more waiting. Luke made his way over to sit next to where Jess was slouched in his own seat. His head was resting on the back of his chair.

Luke shifted Shelby carefully on his lap.

"How many holes you suppose are up there?" Jess suddenly asked as the young man stared up at the ceiling.

"What?" He stared over at his nephew, in confusion, and looked up to where Jess was staring. On the ceiling above them were a million tiny holes in each ceiling panel around the lights. Even Shelby couldn't help look up in curiosity and puzzlement. Apparently, he was so bored, Jess had begun counting the holes.

It was another hour before Shelby's name was called, who had just begun to fall asleep, along with her cousin. He, Luke smacked to alert him while Luke told Shelby gently to wake up, standing to his feet. Shifting her, back to his side, they followed the nurse through some double push doors and down a long hall. As they ventured further into the place, the smells and sights suddenly reminded him of his disgust for hospitals. Luke had been so focused on his daughter, the thought hadn't occurred until now. He tried to keep his mind on Shelby, ignoring any patients that might go by.

They were taken to a curtained off area where the nurse took down Shelby's vitals just as their doctor had done at her regular check-up. Once that was done, the nurse assured them the doctor will be in, in a minute, leaving them alone to wait some more. It was another fifteen minutes before a doctor walked in with Shelby's chart.

"Hi," he greeted them, cheerfully. "Shelby?"

"Yes," Luke replied for her and shook the doctor's hand as he introduced himself and Jess, who just gave a slight nod.

The doctor was a tall man, older than Luke was. He was completely bald with thin framed glasses and dark blue scrubs underneath a white doctor's coat, and introduced himself as Dr. Lancaster. "So, we got a possible broken arm?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, let's see." Dr. Lancaster said. He set his chart on the examination table beside where Shelby was sitting and gently took hold of her injured arm. Even being gentle, it still caused her a good deal of pain, making Shelby squeeze her eyes shut again. He apologized as Dr. Lancaster looked her arm over, though he had to touch each area to see what part of her arm hurt, especially around her elbow, moving up to just about the joint, asking Luke about her medical history and symptoms. Afterwards, it was clear Shelby's arm was broken. To actually see where the fracture was and to make sure nothing was out of alignment, Dr. Lancaster suggested they take some x-rays. He left for a couple minutes to go get things prepared before leading them to a dark room.

While he was gone, Luke had to explain to Shelby what an x-ray exactly was, explaining they were going to take a picture of her bones to see what was broken. But once they got to the room, Luke and Jess had to wait outside. He assured her they'd be right outside, able to look in through a wide glass window.

Because her bones were still forming, Dr. Lancaster had to take an x-ray of both arms to use as a comparison. Once the x-rays were taken, they had to wait once more before Dr. Lancaster returned with the results, hanging the x-rays up and pointed the fracture out. The elbow joint was cracked where it would require surgery to insert pins to hold in place while the bones healed properly.

Luke's heart basically stopped at the sound of his little buddy needing surgery. Sure, he had broken bones as a kid, they never required surgery. The thought of Shelby having to go under while a bunch of doctors cut her arm open to insert some pins, scared him to death. In fact, he was finding it hard to breathe, and Shelby wasn't doing any better. He knew there was a possibility, but hoped it wasn't that serious.

"It's a simple operation," Dr. Lancaster assured him. "It will only require an overnight stay and she won't feel a thing."

Luke took a deep breath, letting it out as he rubbed a hand along Shelby's back, who held a terrified look on her face.

"Well, I'm out," Jess stated, heading for the end of the curtain. If it had to take more than one day he didn't want to stick around, considering the amount of time it had already taken. However, the moment Jess took a step towards the exit, Shelby reached out and grabbed his arm, holding him back. When he looked back at her, Shelby stared up at her cousin, shaking her head as if she didn't want Jess to go. "Come on, Scout. I'm bored, and those smells are getting to me." But those puppy dog eyes of hers continued to peer up into his, quickly making the guy start to squirm. Finally, Jess breathed out, "Fine. I'll stay," but quickly added, "but you're gonna owe me," pointing a finger in her direction. It got her to smile at least.

Dr. Lancaster couldn't help, "Aw," at the sight, causing the young the man to turn bright red as he rolled his eyes away. With that settled, he got back to business. "When was the last time she had eaten?"

"It was breakfast, this morning," Luke answered. He paused to think of the exact time when Shelby patted his arm. Lowering his head, she reminded him in a whisper, she had eaten while watching _Pokemon_ that morning, so around nine o'clock.

Dr. Lancaster looked at his watch. "So, about four, five hours ago." He lifted his head. "We need at least eight hours to do the surgery since her stomach has to be empty. In the meantime, we can get things prepared. That will also give you time to prepare our little patient." Dr. Lancaster smiled down at Shelby, who was still holding onto Jess.

* * *

Shelby was moved to another room to be prepped for surgery. She was given another medical bracelet with more information, along with a gown to change into, but was able to keep her shorts on. Luke helped her change while also talking, not only her through the process, but himself as well.

"Hey, remember when Harry Potter broke his arm?" Jess reminded Shelby.

"Y-yeah," she said with a whimper. "Bu' tey used magic to fix i'."

He shrugged. "Still wasn't pleasant, especially when the nurse had to regrow his bones after that dimwitted Lockhart tried to fix it himself."

Even Shelby couldn't help giggle at that. "Yeah, he was dimwi'ed, and Harry had to drink nas'y 'tuff because of i'."

It actually made Jess smirk, a little. "Just be glad you'll be put under and not have to deal with a guy like that or have your bones be regrown."

The giggling abruptly stopped and her smile vanished. "Pur under?" Her eyes enlarged.

Luke stepped in at that moment, resting a hand against her shoulder. "It just means they'll give ya some medicine to help you relax so you won't feel a thing. Okay?" he assured her.

Jess was silent for a moment before he backed him up. "Yeah, everything will be just fine, Scout."

"Did you have to have sur-ger-ee?" Shelby repeatedly switched between her dad and cousin.

Luke stole a look with his nephew. Looking back at his daughter, he had to tell her, no. "None of my broken bones were serious enough to need surgery, kiddo. I'm sorry." Luke moved his hand to brush some hair behind her ear.

For a last hope, she switched over to Jess. He glanced at the floor before lifting it and admitted, "I had my tonsils removed when I was around your age. It's not the same thing, but I still had to be given medicine to relax, so I wouldn't feel anything."

Luke looked up at his nephew in surprise. "How come I never heard about this?"

He shrugged. "What's to tell? Liz dropped me off, told the doctors she had to go to work, and left me there until I was ready to go home." Jess brushed it off like it wasn't a big deal to him, but Luke looked away, closing his eyes at nothing in particular. He silently cursed his sister to himself. What Luke heard next suddenly re-grabbed his attention. "You know what? I'm glad I didn't leave though. I'm sticking here with ya, Scout."

Luke looked over at Shelby to see her smile again. He had to confess they couldn't go in with her during the surgery, but assured Shelby, they'll be there when she wakes up in the recovery room. "How about I rush home and grab one of your stuffed animals, though? They'll be able to go in with ya."

"You'll come back, right, Daddy?" Her voice cracked when Shelby made sure he was returning.

Luke smiled for her. "Of course, kiddo. Jess can stay with ya until I get back since he's eighteen."

Shelby hesitated for a split second before she said, "Okay, Daddy." She held her good arm out, wanting a hug first before he left. The doctor had given her a sling to hold her other arm, to keep it in place.

Leaning in, Luke wrapped his own arms around his little buddy, kissing the side of her head, under where she still had her hat on, of course. Assuring her one more time he would be right back, Luke stood to his feet and headed for the door. On his way out, he offered to grab a few of Jess' things, but Jess shrugged the offer off.

"But, hey. Grab _Harry Potter_ off the nightstand," he said. "Should either be on top or underneath another book."

Luke nodded. "Will do." He looked back to assure Shelby one last time. When he looked at his nephew, he couldn't help give him, a guilty look. If only Luke had known, he would have been there for his nephew, no doubt about it. Luke couldn't help think how terrified Jess must have been back then, to be in a hospital all alone, having surgery.

He left the room with that heavy on his mind that Luke barely remembered Jess must have been starving until his own stomach rumbled. Quickly going back in the room, Luke asked, "hey, Jess, you want me to…"

After Luke had left, Jess sat beside his cousin to comfort her, himself. He suddenly took his arm away from around Shelby's shoulders, shooting to his feet. It caught both of them off guard.

"I thought you were leaving?!" Jess tried to return to his normal, cool self, but it was difficult considering he was now turning red in the face, from embarrassment.

"I was, but I figured you might be hungry."

"Nah, I'm good. I saw a burger joint on the way here." The young man was now looking elsewhere around the room except at his uncle. "I'll probably grab something while Scout's having surgery so I won't have to eat in front of her."

Nodding in agreement at that point, Luke said, "Okay," before turning to leave again. He couldn't help linger for a moment to smirk at his nephew.

"What?" Jess questioned of the smirk, trying to look at him, but found it hard to hold eye contact.

"Nothing," he shook his head and assured he was leaving. Finally leaving this time, Luke headed out to his truck, smirking. But it didn't last long before the smirk vanished and anxiety set in once more at the thought of Shelby going through her first surgery.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update! I ended up distracted by my new Gilmore Girls story, then I had to do a lot of research for this chapter.**_


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Luke headed home to pack an overnight bag for both him and Shelby, making sure to grab all three of Shelby's stuffed animals and the _Harry Potter_ book from off the nightstand. He had ran into Caesar on the way up, who asked why he was in a hurry. Luke told him everything that happened and told him, he would be in charge for the rest of the day and told him not to worry about coming in, in the morning. Luke would open later when he got home.

With an overnight bag packed, making sure he had everything, Luke returned to the hospital. Shelby was happy to have all three of her stuffed animals, hugging them all in one arm.

To pass the time, Jess read more of _Harry Potter_ to her while Luke took care of some final paperwork he had to fill out.

Once it grew closer to the time of surgery, a nurse came in to prep Shelby, along with another doctor called the anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist had asked what scent she wanted, to help her relax. The choices to choose from was strawberry, orange, cherry, blueberry, and bubblegum. Shelby picked orange since oranges were her favorite fruit.

The nurse also rubbed some ointment on her hand to numb it where the IV would go for the anesthesia. Even after how much Luke and Jess helped keep her calm, Shelby was still afraid and nervous to have the surgery. When it was time for the nurse to take her, Shelby didn't want to go.

Luke held a hand on the metal railing of the hospital stretcher while holding the other to her forehead, rubbing his thumb across it, affectionately. He was trying with all his might to remain calm for his little buddy. "I promise it's only for a little while, okay, kiddo? Jess and I will see you when you wake up. It'll be like you never even left," he assured her and gave Shelby a kind smile.

Shelby gripped her koala, Pikachu, and Maggie in her arm, in a tight grip. She gave him a pleading look not to leave her, but he had to. It took all he had not to cave.

Jess spoke up, reaching over to playfully punch her in the arm. "You'll be just fine, Scout. I'll kick anyone's asses if I have to, to make sure of it," he joked with a snicker.

She nodded up at her cousin.

"I'm sure you're in good hands, though." Jess punched her one more time.

When the nurse told them, they had to go, Luke leaned in closer and kissed Shelby's forehead. "I love you so much, kiddo. See ya in a few." Shelby waved back at them both before the nurse began to push her from the room. The guys followed them out into the hall, walking behind Shelby and the nurse. Every few seconds, Shelby kept looking behind at them. Luke and Jess followed until they couldn't any more and returned to their room, to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait.

Jess eventually decided to check out the burger joint, asking if Luke wanted anything. Luke declined politely which Jess shrugged off and left.

Twenty minutes went by, with Luke pacing around the room, unable to remain still. His heart beat fast and hard against his chest. He found himself taking several breaths of air as Luke wondered how long it took to insert some pins into a child's elbow, hoping Shelby would pull through this. The kid was tough, if she could make it through everything else life has thrown at her, she could beat this. Plus, Shelby always managed to surprise him each time. It still didn't keep him from worrying about her, though.

Of course, Rachel was probably off, enjoying herself, on some kind of adventure. Luke couldn't help feel bitter just thinking about it. The thought never occurred she could be thinking or worrying about their daughter, especially after the argument that broke out between them, over Jess being there. Her heart was in the right place, thinking about Shelby's wellbeing, and Luke knew Rachel really did love her. He just couldn't shake his mind of all the incidents that had happened the past year since letting Rachel back in Shelby's life. Was it really worth it? Letting her back in Shelby's life? Or keeping her away now that he allowed it in the first place? Sure, she seems happy and carefree again, but that didn't mean Shelby wasn't putting on a front for him and everyone else. She was _his_ kid after all.

After a while, with all the battling thoughts in his head, Luke decided to go search for the cafeteria or a vending machine. He ended up finding a vending machine that sold coffee and tea. As he was getting a cup of warm tea, he heard someone call his name. Luke looked up from carefully picking up the hot beverage to see Lorelai coming over.

"Hey," he greeted, surprised to see her, there. "What are you doing here?"

Lorelai stopped a few steps away. "I stopped by the diner to see how Shelby was doing. Caesar told me you were still here. He said Shelby had to have surgery."

Luke let out a deep sigh. "Yeah. Her elbow fractured in a few pieces. She has to have some pins put in so it'll heal well," he explained.

She gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry to hear that."

He thanked her and added, "It's also her first surgery."

"Wow," Lorelai replied. "This has to be really scary for her."

"Shell was terrified, especially when they were wheeling her off. She kept checking to see if we were still following. It took all I had to keep up a brave front for her."

"I know what you mean. I remember when Rory had food poisoning. They had to hook her up to an IV. She looked so little and scared, it made me feel they would have to hook me to an IV."

"I feel ya on that. So glad they numbed her hand for the IV. Shelby hates needles." Luke sighed in relief.

"Awww," she moaned, in sympathy. "Poor kid.

Luke blew on his tea to cool it enough to take a sip.

"How you doing?" Lorelai asked of him.

"Haven't been able to sit still. The idea of having someone cut open my little girl to insert some pins," he sighed some more, "It's killing me. Jess has been a huge help through all this, reading to her to help keep her calm, at least for a moment."

Lorelai looked at him with a surprised look on her face. "Really?"

"Yeah. Huge help, in fact. While I was doing the paperwork, he was reading _Harry Potter_ to her."

"That's great," she told him, seeming like she was forcing a smile.

Dr. Lancaster came over at that point. "Mr. and Mrs. Danes," he said, grabbing their attention. Both of them stumbled on their words upon being mistaken for a couple until Luke was able to say she was just a friend which Lorelai quickly backed up. Dr. Lancaster apologized for the mistake.

"How is she?" Luke asked, straightening up and faced his daughter's doctor, completely.

"She's doing just fine. The surgery went well and she's in recovery right now. You'll be able to see her in half an hour," he said. "Now, we inserted three pins into the joint to hold everything in place while the elbow heals. For the first week of recovery, we've placed her arm in a splint. In a week from now, I'd like if you brought Shelby back so we can get a cast on it for the remainder of the healing process."

"How long will it take to heal, altogether?"

"About four to six weeks."

Luke nodded. That meant Shelby was going to be done with basketball for the rest of the season. Shelby wasn't going to like that one bit.

Once Dr. Lancaster was finished updating Luke on how the surgery went, he left them alone.

"Well, I should probably go," Lorelai said, fixing to leave.

"You don't want to see Shelby when she wakes up?" he asked, pointing behind him. She tried to assure him it was okay, she'll see Shelby eventually, but Luke added, "I'm sure Shelby would love to see you when she wakes up." With more reassurance, he was able to convince Lorelai to stay.

When the recovery portion was over, Shelby was wheeled back to her room where she finally woke up. Dr. Lancaster had warned them, she would be a little groggy and out of it. Boy, could he be anymore right.

Her arm was all plastered in a splint-like holding, to keep her arm in place while it healed. On the back of her other hand was a small cotton ball taped to it where the IV was inserted. On the same hand, her pointer finger had a pulse device taped on. When her eyelids barely opened and as she peered around the room, it was Jess who pointed out that she looked stoned. Luke threw him an annoyed glare, who shrugged innocently. Or tried to, at least.

Luke leaned over her, brushing a hand along her forehead. Her hat was removed from her head and set with her stuffed animals beside her. "Hey, Shell. How do ya feel?"

Shelby peered up at him through half open eyes. With her puzzled look, she asked, "who are you?"

"It's me, kiddo. Your dad," he told her. Luke began brushing the front of her hair back.

"Oh," she replied, looking forward at nothing for a moment before returning her gaze towards him. "Where's Mom?"

Upon hearing his buddy ask for Rachel, tore at his heart. He silently took a deep breath and told her, softly, "she's still on her trip, kiddo," as he continued to brush away her hair.

"No' ta real one. Ta crazy one."

Luke was caught off guard. "Uh...huh?" Luke quickly shared a look with Lorelai before turning back to Shelby, who looked just as confused. "The crazy one? You mean Lorelai?"

With her most serious expression, she asked, "Who's Lor-lai?"

Lorelai spoke up that time, leaning in a little closer. "I am, sweetheart. Your pal." She smiled for Shelby, but Luke could tell Lorelai wasn't sure how to respond.

Shelby stared directly at her. Finally, she said, "You have a big head." The guys couldn't help snicker to themselves but Lorelai still notice.

"Well, there's something I never thought I'd hear again." She stood up straight, placing both hands on her hips.

Shelby was neutral to it. Her head rolled towards Jess, who was standing on the other side.

Jess smiled. "Hey, Scout. How you feelin'?"

She stared back at him, still zoned out. "Did you kick tear asses ye'?" she asked, innocently.

He chuckled. "Do I need to?"

Shelby nodded. Weakly lifting her good hand, she pointed at her dad. "Kick his."

Jess glanced over at Luke, still chuckling. "Why?"

"Why, wha'?"

"Why do I need to kick your dad's ass?"

"I don' know."

There was a knock on the door before it opened. The same nurse from before walked in bringing a pitcher of water, setting it on the bedside table.

"How are we doing?" she asked Shelby.

Being out of it still, Shelby automatically answered, with full boldness. She had turned her head to look over at the nurse. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nurse Ashley," she replied, remaining sweet and patient. "Remember? I helped with your surgery?"

"Oh yeah." Just like that, Shelby turned back to Jess. "Can you kick her ass?"

Jess let out a snicker which Luke finally said, "Alright, Shell. Stop telling Jess to kick everyone's butt, and stop saying ass, too." But Jess wasn't the only one amused by it. It got a smile from the nurse, as well, probably used to interacting with kids under the influence of anesthesia.

"No worry. Right before she went under, when the anesthesia started kicking in, she told everyone in the operating room, her big bro was gonna kick all of our butts." She chuckled, not at all taking it seriously.

Luke stole a glance over at the young man, glaring over at him, who was just smirking.

"What?" he shrugged, innocently.

The biggest surprise was when Luke realized not even Lorelai could keep a straight face. Well, at least it's better than the reaction Rachel would give if she were there. She'd probably hate it more than he did. Luke had to admit, it was a little funny. However, the next time Nurse Ashley returned, this time with a simple meal of broth, jello, and apple juice, Shelby tried hooking her up with her dad. Nurse Ashley assured her, she was already married.

"Bu' my dad is really nice. You'd like him," she pointed out.

Nurse Ashley smiled. "I'm sure he is very nice."

While Luke helped Shelby eat what she could, Dr. Lancaster came by to check on her, making sure everything was okay, whom Shelby also wanted Jess to kick his ass, as well. Lorelai eventually left, leaving the three alone. Shelby had fallen back to sleep, allowing the guys to get some sleep, too. They took each armchair on either side of the bed. By late morning, the next day, Shelby was able to be discharged and able to go home. On the way home, she asked about whether or not she dreamed about some of the things she said.

"Oh, trust me," Jess was the one to respond, "they were no dreams. It was quite entertaining. You even tried getting the nurse to date your dad."

"I did?" she asked in surprise.

"Yep."

Shelby turned to Luke, for confirmation.

"You were so out of it, I told your dad to ask for a doggy bag of whatever they gave you," Jess added, receiving another glare from Luke.

Luke was just glad it was all over, but couldn't help shake Shelby's comment and the way she asked for Lorelai. Dr. Lancaster had told them not to take anything said seriously while she was sedated. If Shelby hadn't of mentioned before how she wished Lorelai was her mom, Luke may have not given it a second thought. Could that have been why she hadn't asked about Rachel returning, and why Shelby had been wanting to spend more time with her and Rory? It was something that lingered around in his mind for a while.

On Monday, Luke took her to school to explain to Mr. Harris about Shelby's broken arm, letting him know the splint was temporary just for a week. He had to smile when Luke found out how many of her classmates wanted to sign it, but had to wait. The following Saturday, they went back to the hospital to see Dr. Lancaster again.

Dr. Lancaster took some more x-rays just to be sure Shelby's elbow was healing, nicely. Once everything looked good, he asked what color cast she wanted. Shelby wanted it to look like her room did at Rachel's place, but they couldn't make an army green camouflage. Dr. Lancaster was able to give her a plain green cast that covered basically her whole arm that went up passed her elbow.

Luke held Shelby on his leg while the doctor formed the cast to fit her arm snugly, but not too tight that it cut off her circuitation.

"Just make sure you don't stick anything down inside," Dr. Lancaster warned her as he was sliding her arm into the sling. Luke backed him up on that part, reminding Shelby on what he had told Rory about his bad experience. "Do you have a blow dryer at home?"

"Um, no?" Luke wasn't sure what a blow dryer had to do with anything. "Why?"

"On the cool setting, the blow dryer can actually relieve itching."

His eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Mm hm," he nodded. "Well, you're all set. If there are any problems or if the cast cracks, come back and see me, immediately, and we'll get it fixed for ya."

Luke thanked Dr. Lancaster, having Shelby do the same, giving him a thumb's up.

Ethan and Alan stopped by the diner, later that day with their parents, to see Shelby and were the first ones to sign her cast, both writing small messages stating how awesome she was. Lorelai and Rory also stopped by to see how Shelby was doing and to see the new cast, signing it, too. Come Monday, Shelby's cast was covered with several autographs. Luke could see how much it made Shelby feel to know how many wanted to sign it. She hated she couldn't play basketball anymore, at least for the rest of the season. Mr. Harris let her participate during practices as long as she was careful, letting her try shooting the ball with one hand. It usually missed but assured her the fun was in the trying part.

During the games, Shelby had to sit on the sidelines, cheering the rest of her team on. She was given the title of assistant coach just so Shelby could feel part of the team. So all wasn't lost. After each game, Shelby helped pass out the snack to everyone. On her own, she continued to practice, dribbling the ball with only one hand. Most of the time, though, Shelby rested her injured arm. Having a broken elbow didn't stop her from playing on her Nintendo 64, still able to move her thumb.

After they signed her cast, Lorelai ended up turning the conversation over to weird premonitions involving her death, one that was similar to Daffy Duck getting his beak blown to the back of his head. Luke chuckled when he overhead Shelby telling her how he told her it wasn't good to watch TV right before going to sleep because it could affect the REM sleep.

"Okay, that's it." Lorelai called over to Luke, "Luke, I'm taking custody away from you. Shelby's ours now."

He came over, holding someone's order. "You can try but Shelby won't let you. Right, Shell?"

Lorelai scoffed. "Not with my persuasion skills. Right, Shelby?"

Shelby shook her head at Lorelai. "I'm 'taying wi' my dad. He's my bes' friend," she stated.

Smiling, Luke bent over to kiss the side of her head before taking the plate in his hand over to its owner. "Told ya," he smirked over at Lorelai, who threw him a mock glare.

"Oh, trust me. We'll get her over to the dark side," she called after him.

When he walked back from dropping of the order, both Shelby and Lorelai were in a raspberry match, both sticking their tongues out at each other. Shelby eventually stood up to lean on the table as Lorelai leaned in closer. Luke caught Rory's eye, both exchanging slight smirks. Lane came in, interrupting the scene. Luke left the girls alone to refill everyone's drinks.

Lane didn't stay long, having to get to band practice. Before she left, though, Luke overheard Shelby ask if she could be in her band but when the kid realized there were guys she never met before, Shelby changed her mind.

"Maybe when you're older and we've become famous, you can open for us at one of our shows," Lane suggested.

"Okay," she replied.

Shortly after Lane left, Lorelai and Rory did too, right as Shane dashed in, almost knocking them over, rushing over to where Jess was sitting at the counter, reading when he was supposed to be helping out with the customers.

While the couple was locked in kiss mode, Luke noticed Shelby had wandered over and was trying to sidle herself in between their legs, pushing on Jess' legs with her good hand. Luke helped by walking in between them when he was taking another order to a customer. Shelby hadn't expected Jess to step backwards and almost stumbled forward, landing against him.

"What are you doing, Scout?"

Shelby clung to his leg, trying to keep her cousin in place where he couldn't move.

"Kid's a freak," Shane stated in a disgusted tone and asked if Jess was ready to go yet.

Jess called over to let Luke know he was leaving and tried to unhook Shelby's arm from his legs.

Luke helped out, calling over to Shelby. "I could use an extra hand, Shell." But Shelby refused to let go of her cousin. Jess hunched over to whisper something before she finally let go, letting him leave. She didn't move though, staring at the floor.

Jess looked back and made his way back over to playfully punch her arm. Luke heard him mutter something about making it up to Shelby before leaving again. When he was gone, Luke made his way over to lift Shelby into his arms, being careful of her arm. Kissing the side of her forehead, Luke proceeded to make her feel better, asking for her help.

Monday morning, Lorelai and Rory stopped by for breakfast which Lorelai shared she was asked to speak at the high school, and told Luke, they wanted him to speak, as well. There was hardly any thought when he immediately said no. Of course, when did Lorelai ever take no for an answer, especially when she wanted him to do something. She started begging for him to say yes and when that didn't work, started talking baby talk to him, earning some unwanted attention from the rest of his customers. Both Rory and Shelby looked around feeling embarrassed.

"Dad, please say yes so she'll 'top," Shelby told him. He too felt embarrassed by the woman, not liking the attention anymore than the girls did and finally agreed just to shut her up. It wasn't actually a binding agreement and Luke planned to back out at the last minute. However, it didn't go exactly as he had planned when he called the inn to let her know. Luke had hated the three years he spent at Star Hollows High and was glad when he left. No way would he want to go back there to give a speech, even if it was to talk about his business success. Not like those kids would even listen to him, anyway.

But Lorelai persuaded him not to back out, this time, doing a Louis Armstrong impersonation. Of course, in the end, she won and Luke still had to do it, though he hoped by some miracle something would happen that would cause the stupid speech to be canceled, possibility a meteor crashing into the school or something. Hopefully when no one was in it or a part of the school that was unoccupied. Luke wasn't heartless after all. He even asked Shelby to put in a good word for him to the Big Guy upstairs. Shelby just asked why he couldn't ask himself which Luke didn't have an answer for.

Putting a loving hand on his shoulder, Shelby assured him, "i's okay, Dad. I' won' be so bad." Luke had to smile at his little buddy's adorableness. But he wasn't dressing up for it, choosing to wear his most successful flannel shirt he scored many deals in. That was good enough in his book. Unfortunately, Lorelai didn't see it the same way as he did and dragged him upstairs to change where Shelby was playing a basketball game, winning. She was also wearing a pair of Jess' big headphones, listening to her music.

When Luke got close enough he could hear Reba singing. Headphones were made so only the listener could hear the music, not the whole world. If everybody can hear it, what was the point of headphones?

Grabbing the headphones from off her head, Luke asked, "Shelby, are you trying to kill your hearing?" making sure to block her view of the TV.

Shelby jumped at her dad suddenly being there. She didn't like he was blocking her view, though. "Dad! I can' see!" she protested.

"Well then, pause it and tell me why you were trying to bust your eardrums," he insisted. Jess had wandered over to toss himself into the chair, beside the kid, who only took up half the space.

"Jess told me to," she answered, honestly.

Luke turned his head immediately over to his nephew. "Why did you tell your cousin it was alright to blast her music with headphones?" he asked of him.

Jess shrugged, "Didn't want to listen to country." The guy really wasn't a fan of Shelby's music. He had even tried to introduce her to his. Some songs he was successful, that she liked, but mostly Shelby preferred her own. "By the way, what was that you were saying about a toy?"

It was Lorelai who answered that time. "Your uncle Luke is getting one if he's a good boy."

Shelby perked up at that. "Dad is ge'ting a toy?" she asked, looking like a kitten who just smelled food.

"Can we make this any more demeaning?" Luke questioned before suggesting Jess go downstairs and help out Caesar, who pointed out his education was more important while holding a textbook in his lap.

After picking on him for the Jimmy Buffet shirt Luke had, hung up in his closet, Lorelai found him the nicest, professional shirt to wear. He took it inside the bathroom to change which she pointed out about changing out there since he was just changing his shirt, reminding him that she's seen Luke without a shirt on at the lake.

"Lately? Because he's really let himself go," Jess pointed out.

Shelby caught part of it. "Le' who go?" She suddenly panicked. "Is Dad ge'ting rid of Ce-zer?" meaning to say, Caesar.

"I said letting himself go, meaning your dad's gained a few pounds around the middle," he explained to her.

Shelby still hadn't gotten it. "Ta mid-doe of wha'?"

Luke heard Jess groan out loud in frustration, most likely towards the ceiling. "I mean, his stomach has gotten fat."

"Oooh," she finally replied and agreed. "Yeah, he has."

Luke let out a sigh, listening to the conversation going on out there while he was slipping his arms through the sleeves of his blue collared shirt he usually wore whenever he went to the bank. Once he had it buttoned up, he left the bathroom where things were quiet. Lorelai tried pushing a tie too, but Luke wasn't pushing anything else. The shirt was fine enough, pointing out the toy had better not be something he had to put together.

Once they were out in the hallway, alone and out of earshot of the cousins, Lorelai pointed out, quickly, "Oh, by the way, Jess had a girl in the closet," before hurrying downstairs, stating they were late. Luke barely had time to process the information as he hurried after the woman.

Being back in his old high school brought back reminders why he hated being there. It still smelled the same, surprisingly. The final bell that rang was the only thing he liked, and hoped to get through the whole ordeal as fast as possible. He questioned Lorelai's notecards she looked over as they waited to go in.

While they waited, though, Lorelai had wandered over to the trophy case, possibly seeing Shelby's future since she was already a clone of her dad. Or at least the male equivalent. Luke groaned when he realized they still had his pictures up of when he was on the Track team, demanding if they should have his permission to display something like that.

Lorelai laughed upon finding out his nickname but said, "Poor Shelby's gonna be walking these halls one day with the legacy of her dad on display."

"She'll be proud," he told her, in an annoyed tone, hoping things couldn't get any worse. Luke could see why Jess didn't want to hang around here, at least.

Eventually, they were able to go into the classroom where the two were speaking. Lorelai went first which Luke was glad of, hoping she'd yak so much they won't even get to him. Things did get out of hand when the students started bombarding Lorelai with questions about getting pregnant at sixteen. He couldn't help snicker watching her trying to remain on track. In the end, Luke did end up having to take over, thankful he conceived Shelby in his late twenties.

While Luke gave his speech, winging it as he went along, explaining how he turned a hardware store into a diner and the business aspects that came along with starting his own business, Lorelai waited for him out in the hallway. The whole time he was nervous. His heart beat faster and faster throughout the whole process he was up there and his palms grew even more sweater by the second. Luke swore he was going to sweat through his shirt, wishing Lorelai hadn't of picked a light colored shirt.

On the walk back to the diner, though, he felt a little better, thinking about the trouble Lorelai had to go through. He tried not to but then again, Luke honestly could have tried harder. She had begged and pleaded him to do this and the whole thing sort of backfired on her. It got worse when the other moms confronted them, looking like they wanted to rumble or something. Instead, they voiced how upset they were about what Lorelai had told their children. Eventually, she had to defend herself and tell the mothers off, which Luke had to agree with. Seeing how she was able to handle herself alone, Luke left the women alone, having to get back to the diner. Besides, he had to find out if Jess really did have a girl in the closet or not, realizing, Shelby having to use headphones made better sense.

Making sure the customers were satisfied first, Luke headed upstairs.

Jess was looking out the kitchen window when he walked through the door, asking about what was going on down there with Lorelai and the other mothers.

Luke removed his jacket, tossing it over onto the foot of Shelby's bunk, for now. "So, we did that thing at the school, today," he said, changing the subject, but Jess had started reading, not paying much attention to his uncle. "Yeah, it went pretty well." He was basically talking to himself, especially when Shelby was focused on her game, now playing a _Mario_ game called _Mario 64_ , working her way through the second world, ground-pounding on thin, rectangular bad guys made out of cement. On their backs, it looked like they were held together by an oversized band-aid. But that wasn't what was important at the moment as Luke began looking around their side of the apartment, making sure to check the closet, explaining how the speech went as if anybody was listening.

Jess finally looked up again when Luke checked the closet. "Checking for monsters?" he questioned.

"Oh, no," Luke told him, awkwardly.

"Then, what?" He leaned back in his chair where Jess was sitting at the kitchen table, now reading one of his own books.

"I just didn't want to accidently bump into someone in there," Luke pointed back over his shoulder.

"What are you talking about?"

"Jess, did you have a girl stashed away in there before?" he asked.

Jess turned back to his book as he asked, "Before what?"

"Lorelai said you were hiding someone here earlier. She said a girl. Were you?"

Without looking up from his book, Jess confessed.

"Jess, you don't shove a girl into a closet," Luke told him.

He looked up at nothing to correct him. "I did not shove her in a closet. She got in, voluntarily."

Luke scoffed. "Oh, sure," he replied, not buying it.

"Look, Shane freaked when she heard you guys coming. Next thing I know, she's in there," Jess pointed at the closet. Personally, Scout's the only one I cared about seeing us. But, hey," he forced a chuckle, "women, right? Can't live with 'em. You can't keep 'em from jumping in the closet." At that, Jess went back to his book.

Luke let out a sigh, realizing he and Jess should have a little talk. Not within earshot of seven-year-old ears, though. Grabbing ahold of him, he dragged Jess out into the hall, making sure to shut the door and keep his voice down. "Look, I know you're at an age where the whole girl thing is," he paused in his words, "you know, on your mind a lot, and it's probably not helping you to think straight with all the hormones and all the other things that are raging around in there." Luke circled his hand around in emphasis.

Jess just stared back at him, in disbelief.

"My point is," he continued. "You gotta think about things, a little better, you know? The way you act. If you care about a girl like you do with this Shane…"

"I don't care about her," Jess admitted with a slight scoff.

"What?" This time, Luke was in disbelief.

"I don't even know her last name."

Looking out the corner of his eye, he said, "you're kidding."

"She mentioned it once. Didn't stick."

"Well, if you don't care about her, what are you doing with her?"

"Just hanging with her," he replied. "No biggie." Jess headed back inside the room, heading over to his and Shelby's dresser they had to share.

"Well, you gotta be doing something more than just hanging with her." Luke followed the young man. "You have to at least be doing something with her to make her jump in a closet when people come into a room, that you don't want Shelby to see. Not to mention, to risk her hearing in the process."

"Scout's hearing is fine. I was listening to music that loud since I was her age. So, relax, will ya? All is good."

"That's not the point, Jess. You can't treat a girl like this! Like dirt."

"If it's any consolation, she treats me like dirt, too. It's a pretty symbiotic relationship." Jess turned back to his dresser.

"And that's fine with you?" he questioned.

Barely glancing over his shoulder, Jess said, "Yes, it is."

"To just go along in a relationship, treat somebody bad, and they treat you bad, back."

Jess had been putting his shoes on, grabbing his wallet from on top of the dresser. Luke couldn't help notice he was using the wallet Shelby had given him for Christmas, last year. When he had everything, he walked back to the table to grab his watch and wristband as he answered, "That's right."

Luke continued to follow him. "Oh, that makes you happy?"

"I'd do backflips, but I am way too cool for that." Jess fastened his watch to his wrist.

"That makes absolutely no sense."

"Doesn't have to make sense to you," he muttered out loud.

"There are plenty other girls out there in the world, Jess." Luke held a hand out in the air which Jess pointed out about him needing to get back to the diner. "I mean, you could at least go out there and find one that you actually cares about."

He scoffed at that. "Oh, like it's that easy."

"Yeah, it's that easy if you try," he shrugged.

Jess suddenly turned on him, getting close to him. "Hey, the girls I like don't give a damn about me, and unlike some other people I know, I'm not gonna sit around hoping that they change their mind and suddenly notice me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You fix any neighbor's porches lately? Or you go on a picnic, or you get roped into giving a ridiculous speech at a high school?"

Luke tried to stand firm, holding his hands on his sides. "Shut up," he told him.

"At least I got a little self esteem," Jess said, adding salt to the wounds.

"Shut up."

"I'm not playing golden retriever hoping someday, she'll turn around and fall in my arms. If she doesn't want to be with me, then fine!"

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Luke stated, stubbornly.

"Whatever," he shrugged. "Even a seven-year-old gets it." With that, Jess turned to leave, stating Shane was waiting for him.

Luke was caught off guard by that last response, staring after his nephew, speechless. Seven-year-old? That was oddly specific for an example.

When Jess opened the door, he turned around long enough to add, "She's slow, but she's not dumb." That said, Jess left, shutting the door behind him.

Luke stared at the floor, turning his neck in sheer frustration as he held his hands on his sides. At that point, Mario shouted out from the TV, "So long, dear Bowser!" getting his attention. Looking over at Shelby, who was looking straight at the TV, playing her game.

Does Shelby know more than he thought?

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: Sorry for the long chapter. Didn't think it would turn out this long. If you're interested and haven't seen, I posted a late night story about Jess. Not gonna do anything with it besides a one-shot. Sometimes random ideas pop into my head that I need to dump out and get rid of so that's where it came from. Other wise, I'm gonna have the next chapter of "Healing Love" up next whenever I finish it.**_


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Since it was October once again, that meant Stars Hollow was decorated for not only fall but Halloween as well. Pumpkins and bales of hay were all around town and Halloween decorations covered stores and homes.

Shelby was finding it difficult deciding what she wanted to dress up for Halloween. They discussed it as she sat at the counter while Luke was standing there. She first thought of being a basketball player but Luke told her it was too cold to wear shorts.

"Oh," she said when another idea popped into her head. "I can be Cap-tain Underpants." Shelby giggled after she said that.

Luke leaned on the counter, looking at her. "Shelby, you can not be Captain Underpants."

She continued to giggle. "Why no'?"

He raised his eyebrows as he said, "Because Captain Underpants runs around in a towel and his underpants."

"I's no' a towel. I's a cur-tain," Shelby corrected him.

"Regardless of what it is, you cannot dress up as him."

Giggling some more, she repeated her question of "why no'."

"Shelby," he warned, now holding a firm tone to let her know he was serious.

Shelby gave a forced mock sigh. "Fine," she gave in. "Wha' abou' Harry Po'ter? Can I be him?"

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, that would be fine. Either this weekend or the weekend after, we'll go see if we can find a costume. How's that?"

She nodded. "Okay."

Luke leaned in, lowering his head towards hers to touch his forehead to Shelby's. It made her smile. That was pretty much their thing by this point. He still could not believe this was the same kid he met almost two years ago. She was growing up way too fast for his liking.

Thursday afternoon, Jess picked Shelby up from school but told Luke he had to do it, Friday, to go pick up her _Pokémon_ cards. Apparently, her and the boys were doing some trading during class when they weren't supposed to. Luke thanked Jess, and told Shelby, he was taking them away for two weeks, starting Friday. Shelby didn't like it but he reminded her there were consequences for her actions, whether good or bad. However, her spirits were lifted when he came to pick her up after school on Friday.

"Dad! Dad! Guess wha'."

Luke lifted her up, being careful since her arm was still in the cast. "What?" He smiled.

Shelby opened her mouth, touching her finger to yet another loose tooth. "My second one." The first one had finally fallen out. Of all the ways that could have done it, it was by junk food while at Lorelai's house which Luke pointed out to Lorelai in a rant about junk food and teeth. "And ta's no' all."

"More good news?" he asked, surprised. "Boy, this is a good day for you, huh?"

She nodded. "We're gonna have a gues' tis weekend, too."

"Oh? Does Ethan and Alan want to come over?"

She shook her head, now wearing a smirk.

About that time, Mr. Harris came over, carrying a wire pet cage along with a clear, see-through blue ball under his arm. When he got close, Luke saw a tiny, furry hamster snoozing away in a corner of the cage, burrowed in the bedding.

"What is that?" Luke questioned, even though he already knew what it was.

"This is Harvey, our class hamster," he explained. "I let the kids take turns taking him home over the weekend, and this weekend is Shelby's turn."

Luke stared at him, unsure if he had heard right. "Come again?"

"I's my turn to take Harvey home," Shelby told her dad, smiling brightly.

"Uh…" Luke stared at his daughter's teacher, his eyes switching between him and the cage with the small bundle of fur. "Seriously?"

"Don't worry, it's low maintenance. I clean out the cage every Friday, he has plenty of food in there until Monday. You can give him apples, carrots, or cucumbers for a snack but not too much, especially the carrots. Just make sure he has plenty of water and he likes to run around in his ball here." Mr. Harris held the exercise ball up.

Luke couldn't help grimace at the critter, not liking having to take home a rodent that will probably stink up the apartment. Not being fond of animals, especially small rodents, Luke tried to talk both Shelby and her teacher into not making them take it home. In the end, he lost and found himself carrying the cage by the handle while Shelby carried its ball. Mr. Harris also returned Shelby's _Pokémon_ cards, giving them to Luke, who put the cards right into his back pocket. He reminded Shelby, she'll get them back in two weeks.

"I can' wai' to show Lor-lai and Rory," Shelby said, excitedly as they were walking by Miss Patty's dance studio during one of her dance classes. Miss Patty was standing right outside, a cigarette between her fingers, when she overheard Shelby.

"Is that a pet, dear?"

The two stopped to look over at the older woman.

Shelby nodded. "I's our class ham'ter. I's my turn to take him home for ta weekend."

"Oh, how nice," she smiled for the little girl. "Just a little advice, though. If you want it to make it through the weekend, might want to keep it away from Lorelai. She doesn't have a great history with pets."

Luke had to back Miss Patty up, remembering the Skippy story at that point, and explained what happened, to Shelby.

"There was also a rabbit, and a turtle that was supposed to outlive her," Ms. Patty added, afterwards.

Hearing about Lorelai's bad luck with animals was now starting to freak Shelby out. She looked up at her dad with a frightened, urgent look. "Dad, le's ge' Harvey up to ta apar'men' before Lor-lai comes by for her coffee. He can 'tay up tear until Monday." Technically, that was his plan since Luke didn't allow pets in the diner. Hearing it come from Shelby made it heartbreakingly sad.

"Okay, kiddo." Saying good-bye to Miss Patty, Luke and Shelby headed home.

Jess wasn't home yet, who mentioned he'd be home later that evening. Luke already knew the young man wasn't going to be jumping for joy either, having a hamster in the apartment.

He set the cage on their desk, not wanting it on the table they eat off of while Shelby headed straight for the fridge, opening it. Opening one of the bottom drawers, she grabbed one of the apples, closing everything before turning back to her dad.

"Dad, can you cu' tis for Harvey?" Shelby held it out to him as Luke came over.

"Sure," he agreed. "But remember, Harvey is your responsibility." Luke took the apple and grabbed a sharp cutting knife from the knife holder on the counter. He grabbed the cutting board from where it was kept hung on the wall above the counter.

"I will take good care of him, Dad," she promised.

Luke smiled at her. "I know you will." He began cutting the apple in half and cut those in half, also cutting out the seeds. He never thought he would ever be cutting up an apple for a rodent but here he was. Thankfully, it was only for a couple days and Harvey would be gone once Monday came. Luke never wanted Monday to come so much than he did now. In fact, it was another reason that made him wish Rachel hadn't of left. If she was here, Shelby would be going over to her home and would take the rodent with her. Plus, Rachel liked animals more than he did so it would have been perfect. He remembered when she got a cat while they were dating and never wanting to step foot in her apartment, ranting about the gross things cats do.

However, when he handed Shelby the apple slices and she took them over to give to Harvey, Luke couldn't help smile when he watched her offer them to the sleeping hamster. Finally, he suggested to let Harvey sleep for now and to work on her homework. Once Jess got home that night, his suspicions were correct.

He came up after Luke had closed and was working on dinner. Jess removed his jacket, heading for his bunk to toss it over the edge. On his way back, heading for the bathroom to shower, now with clothes in hand, he noticed Harvey roll by on the floor while Shelby followed him on her hands and knees.

"What the hell is that?" Jess suddenly demanded.

It was Shelby who answered him. "I's our class ham'ter. I's my turn to take him home tis weekend."

"Why?" he questioned.

"Everyone in ta class ge's a turn so he won' be all alone over ta weekend," she explained.

"Sometimes it's good to be alone," Jess informed. "Helps you recharge and good for the soul. I'm sure it would like some peaceful solitude."

"But I like having him here."

Jess turned on his uncle, in displeasure. "Luke!"

Luke looked up from his cooking. "It's only for a few days. He'll be gone, Monday when Shelby goes back to school."

"The place is gonna smell, I hope you know that," Jess pointed out. Luke showed him a can of air freshener he had picked up from Doose's Market. Jess still didn't like it but headed off for the shower.

During dinner, Shelby kept getting distracted watching Harvey roll around some more. Finally, Luke told her Harvey would go back inside his cage if she didn't start eating.

"Dad, if I take good care of Harvey, tis weekend, can I have my own ham'ter?" she asked once Shelby picked up her fork.

Both guys immediately blurted out, "No," producing a frown.

"Why no'?"

"It's basically a rat and why would you want a rat for a pet?" Jess questioned.

"Because tear're cute," she answered.

"There is absolutely nothing _cute_ about a rat," he argued that point.

"Yeah, I tink so," she argued back, starting an argument that volleyed back and forth until Luke put a stop to it.

"Shell, we're not getting a hamster. Okay?"

She gave him her puppy dog look that always melted his heart. "Bu' I wan' a pe'. Please?"

"How about a pet rock. I hear they're real easy to take care of," Jess said.

"Rocks aren' alive," she pointed out.

"Exactly. Perfect pet." This time, Shelby gave her cousin her puppy dog look which Jess tried to ignore, eating his dinner.

Finally, Luke sighed under his breath. "We'll see, Shell. Okay? Let's just get through the weekend with Harvey."

Shelby reluctantly gave in. "Okay." She then started eating again. Once it was bedtime, Harvey was returned to his cage. Luke made sure to tell her, to make sure the latch to his cage was securely closed so Harvey couldn't get out. Though, after he told her good night once she was in bed, Luke checked for himself, catching the little guy sticking his tiny nose out. The latch wasn't secured as well as she thought it was. Luke definitely did not want to wake up to find a hamster in his bed and droppings all over the apartment. That right there meant Shelby wasn't quite ready for a pet.

The next morning while Shelby watched her Saturday morning cartoons with her bowl of cereal, Luke got a surprise visit downstairs. He was taking a couple orders at the counter when a family of six walked in. He glanced up to see a dad and three teenaged boys take one of the tables. One of the boys pulled out a chair for an elderly woman whom Luke recognized as Rachel's mother. It was then he noticed her sister had walked over to the counter.

"Hello, Luke," she greeted him, standing on the other side from where he was standing. He had almost forgotten how much Rachel's sister looked like her, except she kept her hair shorter than Rachel did and was nine years older.

"Uh, hey, Rebecca. Surprised to see you here," he returned the greeting. "What brings you here?"

"I came to see Shelby," she replied. "The boys have been wanting to see their munchkin cousin and my mother has been asking to see her, too." Munchkin was a nickname the three boys had started calling Shelby. Truthfully, she hated the nickname. Shelby didn't mind her mom calling her, peanut, but drew the line with munchkin. She was too shy to say anything yet.

Luke motioned towards the ceiling with his head, "She's upstairs watching cartoons." Things were awkwardly silent for a moment as Luke wiped off the counter real quick. With Rachel gone, it had never crossed his mind her family would still be around since they were also blood relation to his daughter. "So...how's she doing?"

"Who? Rachel?" she asked.

"Yeah. She still traveling?" Luke swifted on his feet, now just playing with the rag. He forced himself to make eye contact but kept dropping it towards the rag as well as trying to keep the bitterness out.

Rebecca shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't heard from her since she called me that day you banned her from Shelby's life. In tears, I might add, and my sister's not one to express her emotions like that. You hurt her so badly that day."

Luke looked up at that. He couldn't believe his ears. "I hurt _her_? Do you have any idea how much _she_ hurt Shelby?" Luke made sure to keep his voice at a calm level, but it was hard.

"I'm not saying my sister was in the right. She's at fault in this whole thing just as much as you, and I told her that. But what you did is beyond worse," she told him.

He stared at her. "Worse? Rebecca, I have been more than patient with Rachel." He suddenly paused in his words, looking back towards the stairs. Not wanting Shelby or anyone he knew, walk in and overhear things, Luke had Rebecca follow him into the back. He turned back to her. "I gave her plenty of chances but they all ended up leaving Shelby upset. Her up and disappearing like that was the final straw," Luke pointed a finger at the floor. "I refuse to keep putting my kid through that, especially when it took almost a month to get her back to her happy self."

"Yes, I will agree my sister isn't the best to work with and made some poor decisions. Trust me, I grew up with her. We were close but sometimes it was frustrating trying to get through to her." The both of them kept their voices down, speaking in a calm tone. "And I told her I could see why you did what you did and understand where you're coming from. She is still family, though. No matter how many times Rachel took off and didn't speak to us or checked in, we always took her back, even when she was in trouble, because that's what family does. Heck, Rachel should have known that when our father threw her out of the family, he'd still take her back in if she needed help."

Luke shook his head, his arms now crossed in front of him. "She's no family of mine." He shrugged at that, holding it for a moment.

"But she is a part of Shelby's. Like it or not, we are her family, too."

"You wanna know what I learned earlier this year?" he said, matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"Yes, you are her family _by_ _blood_. Doesn't mean you're _her family_."

Rebecca stared at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"First of all, where were you?" he questioned.

"Where was I?"

"Did you call?" he shrugged. "Send a letter? Carrier pigeon?"

"Did I...no, we've been busy. We have something going on every day of the week. My oldest made head quarterback of his school's varsity team, the other made the freshmen team, and the youngest has band practice, a couple times a week. Plus, we went out of town to see my brother in Tennessee over the summer which Rachel and Shelby were supposed to come, by the way."

Luke was unfazed. "The last time Shelby heard from you was Easter for a day." His arms were still crossed, nonchalantly looking at her. "Between then and now, she has had a birthday. Never got a call then. The only phone calls Shelby received was from her caseworker and, surprisingly, Rachel. She finished the first grade, started the second grade. Never received a phone call during any of those times either. She even started playing basketball, not only during the summer, but for the current season."

"Well, I was going to plan something with Rachel when she came back but since you banned her from seeing Shelby, I never got to make the arrangements to see Shelby for her birthday and take her to dinner."

He shrugged. "I told Rachel to stay away, not your whole family. If you wanted to see Shelby, all you had to do was come ask. If Shelby wants to see you. And I will ask she at least come say hello, by the way."

"Well, I did not know that. I will take that into consideration for the future," she replied with a nod. "May we see her today? We'd like to take her to lunch if you don't mind."

"Sure, under a few conditions."

Rebecca shrugged, holding her hands on her sides now. "I'm reasonable."

"For starters, if Shelby doesn't want to go, no one will make her. I will have her come down and say hello, as I said."

"I can agree to that," she nodded in agreement.

"Second, you can take her to lunch, right here." He nodded towards the floor.

"Here? Wh…?"

"Right here, where I can keep an eye on you."

Rebecca stared at him as she questioned, "You don't trust us?"

"It goes with the third and final condition," he said.

"Which is?"

"You don't bring up or mention Rachel to her."

Rebecca looked at him in outrage. "That is really cruel. What if Shelby asks us first? You're gonna deprive her of knowing how her mother is doing?"

"If Shelby asks about Rachel, you tell her she's still on her trip and how she's doing. That's it."

"So, you're really gonna deprive your own daughter of her mother," Rebecca said in an unbelief tone.

"No, I am depriving her of another broken heart. Rachel isn't even supposed to have contact with Shelby until she's eighteen. I was being nice because she should have her mom in her life, but Rachel couldn't even get it together, and took off, even after promising several times she would never leave her, that the rumors around town weren't true. Do you have any idea how much that affected Shelby?" Luke didn't give her a chance to answer. "No, you don't because you haven't been here like I've been."

Things were silent while the two looked at each other.

Finally, Luke said, "Trust me, I don't want to do this. Rachel should be here. But she can't seem to get it together enough to be the mom Shelby should have."

Rebecca closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath. "I agree with all you're saying, I really do. But I see this blowing up in your face, too. You have jurisdiction, though, so I agree to all of your terms. We'll have lunch here, we won't talk about my sister, but if Shelby doesn't want to, we won't make her. Just as long as I can see my niece."

Luke eyed her carefully. Finally, he pulled out his hand, holding it out to Rebecca which she took ahold of to shake on it. Luke then said he would go let Shelby know they were there to visit. As she headed over to where her family was sitting, he couldn't help overhear Rebecca mumble under her breath, questioning what her sister ever saw in him. When he got upstairs, Shelby was watching a cartoon that looked like _Pokémon_ but wasn't.

"Hey, Shell." He kneeled in front of the arm chair where she was sitting. Shelby looked at him.

"Yeah?"

Luke noticed she was holding Harvey in her lap, gently petting him with one hand as he laid curled up, snoozing. "Do you remember your mom's sister, Rebecca. Her sons gave you all of those games for Christmas."

Shelby nodded. "Yeah. Wha' abou' her?"

"Well, they came to have lunch with you and visit with you, and your grandmother came to see you, too."

"Bu' no' Mom?" she asked.

"No, just them," he answered.

"Have tey seen Mom?"

"No, your aunt says she hasn't heard from her in awhile," he said. So, she did still have hope for her mom?

"I don' wan' to see Aun' Rebe'ca," Shelby shook her head. "She looks like Mom."

"But they want to see you, kiddo," he told her. "They missed you, and the boys have been asking about ya."

"I missed tem, too," she admitted. Thinking on it, Shelby agreed, sliding towards the edge of the chair. Luke took Harvey from her, taking him over to his cage, making sure the door to his cage was latched, securely. He then helped Shelby with her shoes. In his opinion, having her arm in a cast did have its positives. He got to help her like when Shelby was younger since she only had one good arm. It wasn't like she didn't attempt to do things on her own. She tried. Luke helped when she it.

Once her shoes were on, they went downstairs and made their way over to where the family was sitting. Shelby walked close to Luke's leg, gripping part of his pants leg in her hand. When they returned, it was Edna who spotted Shelby first.

"Oooh, there's my little Shelby," she said, happily. "Come here, Shelby dear. Come give Grandma a hug."

Shelby exchanged a look with her dad before coming out from behind his leg. That's when they saw her cast. Making her way over, Shelby allowed her maternal grandmother to wrap her arms around her which she held one arm around her grandmother.

Edna squeezed her in a tight embrace. "I have missed you so much."

Shelby didn't utter a word, her muteness kicking in. Finally, after a minute, Edna pulled away when Shelby did.

"What happened to your arm?" she asked.

Shelby looked down at her cast but still didn't say anything. It was Luke who answered for her, explaining briefly what happened.

"We gotta come back when your arm's all better and get a two-on-two game going," the middle boy, Kenneth told her, hugging her, next.

The oldest, Keith suddenly pulled Shelby in, wrapping his arm around her head and rubbed his fist on top. Shelby squirmed trying to pull away. Keith was a huge guy, quarterback built. But that didn't stop Jess when he walked in the diner and saw Shelby in a headlock, trying to squirm out of the dude's arm. Luke had to quickly grab him and hold his nephew back, assuring they were only playing.

Keith had stopped when he saw Jess charging towards him. Eyeing him, carefully, Jess told Luke he had stopped by long enough to grab a few things before leaving, stating he would be back later that night while eyeing Keith like a hawk. He also made sure Shelby was alright before heading upstairs, double-checking once Jess returned, on his way out.

Shelby ate an early lunch with her aunt, uncle, grandmother, and cousins, who only got head motions and shrugs as answers. She ended up not asking for Rachel, not even in written form. Instead, they just asked her questions about how she was doing, including about school and basketball. The youngest, Kevin introduced Shelby to a new card game that was just as popular as _Pokémon_ , in fact it was from the same cartoon she had been watching when Luke had come upstairs. They played a couple games before Shelby got the hang of it and started enjoying it. Kevin had even brought her, her own starter deck to keep.

Even though Luke continued working, he still remained alert and kept an eye on Shelby and the rest of them. At least Shelby seemed to be enjoying herself. When it was time for Rebecca and her family to leave, they took turns giving Shelby a hug good-bye, and told her they'd come visit around Christmastime.

While Edna was hugging her, Luke heard her tell Shelby, "Your mom loves you very much, Shelby. She'll come back." He swallowed a lump that had caught in his throat upon hearing that while Shelby just nodded but didn't seem convinced.

Both Luke and Shelby walked all of them out to Rebecca's husband, Mike's huge black 2000 SUV. Luke couldn't help give him a small rant about how SUVs like that took a lot of gas, among other things that had to do with them. Honestly though, he had always liked Mike, remembering when he was in need of a tool and bought one from William's store in spite of Lloyd's protest. Neither Lloyd or Rebecca was very happy about it while Mike pretty much became Luke's best friend basically. Mike just hated feuds but loved making trouble, even giving William a hefty tip that day. Despite the man's huge size he passed on to his boys, except for the youngest, Mike was a lovable goofball who liked to stir up harmless trouble.

After they were gone, Shelby headed back upstairs to check on Harvey.

Luke eventually came up to check on her and tried asking how she felt. Shelby was quiet for a long time before she finally asked if she could go see Lorelai. He offered to give her a lift there since Shelby couldn't ride her bike and said he'd pick her up later unless Lorelai brought her back. Shelby ended up spending the afternoon at the inn, helping out where she could. That evening, she was quiet during dinner but seemed to perk up once Jess got home, asking him if he wanted to learn the new card game. Jess declined, reminding Shelby they hadn't practiced her speech in a while. So, once they were both ready for bed, Jess and Shelby sat up on his bunk and did flashcards of the TH sound and words that ended in T. Both of them must have been totally wiped out because some time later, Luke found them both asleep, Shelby lying next to her cousin. One had to be a fool to pass up this photo opportunity and Luke wasn't a fool.


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Sadly, Monday came and Harvey had to be returned to Shelby's classroom where he belonged. Well, Luke tried to be happy since at two o'clock, early Sunday morning, the tiny furball decided he was extremely dehydrated and went wild on his water bottle, waking the whole apartment in the process. The solution was to remove the water bottle but Shelby was afraid Harvey would die if he got thirsty again. So Luke just put a small dish of water in there in case Harvey did get thirsty again and returned his water bottle the next morning when everyone was awake. But when he saw how sad his little buddy was to have to take the hamster back to school, he decided to tell her, he was thinking on Shelby's request to have some kind of pet. That perked her up a little, and honestly meant it, too.

What perked her up even more was basketball practice and straight from practice, another town meeting. Though, with her mind freshly in pet mode from the weekend guest, Shelby didn't like what Taylor wanted to do to the birds who were leaving droppings on people's cars. Having brought her toy Nerf gun along, she sneakily fired a dart in the man's direction, getting Taylor in the forehead.

Lorelai noticed it, but instead of scolding her, quietly but quickly helped Shelby hide the evidence that it was her by stashing it behind them as Taylor called out for the culprit, very annoyed. Luke did see it as well but pretended not to, trying not to smile, much less laugh. At that point, Miss Patty's current boyfriend walked in and took the attention away from it.

The topic of birds were dropped, to Shelby's delight, who wanted to shoot another one but that time, Luke stopped her, letting her know once was enough for now. He also reminded her she couldn't do something like that any other setting besides town meetings that involved Taylor. The topic ended up changed to the town's loner wanting to stage a protest.

When Shelby heard Lorelai call the guy, the town loner, she said, innocently, "I taw Dad was ta town loner?"

"Nope," Lorelai shook her head. "There's another one." She nudged the little girl with her elbow as a surprised look appeared on her face as if Shelby was in awe.

Luke sat there, staring at his daughter, holding his arms folded, casually. Looking ahead, he gave her a kick in the leg. Not enough to hurt but it made Shelby retaliate with a kick to his leg, starting a fun game of Swift Kick as they called it, only half paying attention to what was being said. It was enough for him to point out the Revolutionary War when Taylor tried to say protesting was "un-American" as Shelby kicked him again. Not hard but in a playful way as she knew better. By that point, looking out of the corner of his eye, Luke pinned her back in her seat, holding a clawed hand to her stomach, tickling it. When Taylor finally dismissed the meeting, Luke let go so he could stand up. Shelby immediately tackled his legs, playfully punching them with her right fist. He reminded her to grab her Nerf gun before Taylor finds it and takes it, turning her around with a hand on top of her head.

"Wha' abou' my dar', Dad?" she asked. "Ta one I sho' a' Taylor?"

At that moment, Babette interrupted them, bringing over Shelby's dart. "Here, sugar."

Shelby took the dart, thanking the older woman.

"You're welcome," Babette smiled for her. "Nice shooting there, Tex."

Shelby smiled, proudly before her and Luke caught up with Lorelai and Rory, who was waiting for them.

"Hey, what do you know about this town loner guy?" she asked Luke.

"Same as everyone," he shrugged as they made their way down the steps, "just kind of skulks around with that backpack, never smiles." They started heading in the direction of the diner.

"Does he also make cheeseburgers, and secretly harbors a desire to wear a backwards baseball cap?"

Luke gave the woman the same stare he gave Shelby, only more irritated, to which Lorelai started singing Luke and the guy were identical cousins, thus causing him to ban Shelby from hanging around Lorelai, yet again. That is until a car drove by, catching their attention. In the driver's seat was Jess.

"Well, look who's back behind the wheel," Lorelai stated, sarcastically as they watched him drive by. "Lovely."

"Mom, I'm gonna get going," Rory suddenly said, having some studying to do.

"Okay, babe. I'll catch up with you," she replied as Rory started on her way to their house. When she was gone, Lorelai asked Luke, "when did Jess get a car?"

"Oh, uh…" Luke paused in hesitation. Truthfully, he had no idea Jess was planning on buying a car. "Recently," he lied, nodding towards her.

She stared at him. "Where did he get it?"

"Oh, he got it from a guy...around here at a place." Luke started messing with his ear lobe.

"A guy at a place?" she questioned, clearly not buying it as Lorelai told him, "you had no idea, did you?"

"Not in the least," Luke admitted now that he was caught.

They started walking again, crossing the street which Shelby took a hold of Luke's hand as she walked in between the adults.

"Way to have a handle on things, Luke," Lorelai told him.

"Well, he doesn't share much with me, you know?" he said. "And he's got a license. What can I do?"

"Stop him before he kills," she said.

"Jess wouldn' kill anybody," Shelby spoke up in defence of her cousin.

Lorelai just smiled for the kid. "I know, sweetheart. I was just making a joke." She looked away, though, muttered something under her breath. Luke could guess she still wasn't a fan of Jess since what happened with Rory and her car.

"Look, I'm not exactly thrilled about this," he tried to say.

Lorelai threw her arms halfway up. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll just butt out for now."

Luke couldn't help wonder out loud where Jess had gotten the money to pay for the car. With how much he pays the kid for helping in the diner, it would take so much more longer to save for a car.

"I don't know. Working at the diner?" she shrugged.

"I can barely afford a car working at the diner."

"Ta's because you have to pay a lo' of bills, Dad," Shelby pointed out. The kid did have a point there. But even without bills, it should still take longer than a few months.

"Maybe it was a gift from someone who doesn't know it's gone yet," Lorelai added as she stared ahead, in a sarcastic, bitter tone.

It took a minute before Shelby understood what Lorelai meant by that comment. "Jess didn' 'teal i'. He was saving his money for i'." The adults looked at the kid at that.

"Shell, you knew Jess was getting a car?" Luke asked of her in surprise.

She nodded. "He said one time when we were on ta bus."

"Did he happen to say where he would get the money to pay for the car?" Lorelai asked. Her tone was nicer while she spoke to Shelby.

Shelby shrugged. "From working in ta diner?" It was clear Jess didn't even tell Shelby. Luke knew the two talked and shared more than he did with him. This must have not been one of those times they shared.

Stating she had to get going, Lorelai parted ways towards her house to catch up with Rory. Luke and Shelby headed across another street, over where Jess had parked in front of the diner. When they were close enough, Shelby sprinted the rest of the way, tackling her cousin from behind.

"Scout, watch it. You see me doing something here," he scolded her in a frustrated tone.

She frowned. "I'm sorry, Jess."

"It's cool. Just...because careful. Alright?"

Shelby nodded. "I sho' Taylor in the forehead." She switched her Nerf gun to her good hand to hold it up.

Jess smirked at that. "You did, huh?"

Again, Shelby nodded.

"Nice." Jess finished what he was doing before standing up.

Luke finally spoke up when he had a chance. "So, you got a car."

"Motor Trend's not gonna be giving it any awards, but it'll get me to point A to point B," he replied.

"Yeah, I guess it'll get ya around. So, uh, where'd ya get the money for it?" He came right out with it.

Jess made his way around the car. "Mugged an old lady."

Shelby followed her cousin. "You did?" she asked, thinking Jess had actually done it.

"He's being a smartass, Shell," Luke explained to her, heading around the other side of the car.

"Oh."

"It didn't cost that much," Jess admitted.

"What's 'not much?'"

He pretended to think on it, glancing up at the night sky. "Less than a lot."

"Jess," Luke sighed, trying to hold his patience, "where did you get the money?"

Jess had made his way around to the trunk, turning around to face it. "You know that hash you sling at the diner? I scrape off the plates in the back. You remember I work for ya?"

Luke leaned his knuckles on the edge of the car, looking over at the thing. "Yeah, I know you do."

Opening the trunk, he muttered out loud, "Okay then."

"I also know I don't pay you enough to buy the car," Luke told him, making his way behind Jess, to the other side.

Jess looked over at him, to inform him, "I saved up my pennies and bought the car from Gypsy's. She gave me a good deal. That's how I got the car."

"So, you bought a car. Now, the price of the car is just one small thing. It's just the beginning." Luke wandered around him to step onto the sidewalk.

"Oh, yeah?" he said, mockingly, turning around to look directly at his uncle.

"Did you take the additional expenses into account?"

"Like?" he shrugged, shaking his head.

"Insurance?"

Jess folded his arms in front of him. "I'm in good hands."

"Liability, uninsured motorist?"

Pointing back behind him, Jess stated, "All the paperwork's in the glove compartment. Feel free to check it out."

"Money for gas?"

Being a smartass again, Jess stood up from where he had leaned against his car to point at it. "You mean this didn't come with a never-emptying magical tank?"

"Jess," Luke warned.

He scoffed, walking away. "I factored that in."

Luke followed after him. "You're gonna have repairs," he pointed out.

Shelby was leaning against the car to look inside the front passenger window as the guys came over. All of the windows were down.

"I can fix most of them myself and save for the rest."

Shelby looked over where Jess had stopped walking. "I can help. Dad taugh' me."

"If you don't mind getting dirty, sure," he said.

"Nope," she shook her head. "I don' mind."

He then added towards Luke, "Plus, I'm gonna make sure to replace the oil every couple months."

"Right. I bet you didn't think of that; the oil. That could cost money."

"I'm the one that brought it up. You're the one that didn't think of it." Jess gave Shelby a short whistle, having her move so he could reach in there. Luke tried to object to not bringing up the oil but only stuttered, eventually giving up, reluctantly admitting defeat. Jess grabbed his book off the front seat before heading inside the diner, which Shelby hurried after him. They both left Luke standing there, still with unanswered questions in his head.

Later that week, one morning, Jess actually got up earlier than usual, grabbing a coffee and donut to go.

"Ready, Scout?" he asked of Shelby, who was finishing her french toast and ham with syrup on both. Something the kid liked but Luke found strange to pour syrup on ham.

"You taking your cousin to school this morning?" Luke asked.

"No, I thought we play hookie and drive down to Vegas," Jess replied, sarcastically.

"Jess," he warned.

"Relax. Yes, I'm taking Scout to school."

"That car has seat belts, right?" Luke pointed out.

"Yes, I made sure there were seat belts with Scout in mind." That still didn't put Luke's mind at ease. But then again, he knew how protective Jess was of his cousin. If he said he had Shelby in mind then Luke had to believe him.

Shelby slid down from the stool she was sitting on, already wearing her backpack.

Luke came around the counter to hug and kiss his little buddy, good-bye.

On the way out, Jess turned on his heel to add one last thing. "I owe you ten bucks."

"When did I loan you ten bucks?" Luke questioned, having followed him to the door.

"Last night."

"I wasn't here last night. Remember, Shelby still has practice," he reminded him.

"You're always here, Uncle Luke. In my heart," Jess told him, mockingly and smirked.

Realization sunk in. "You took money out of the register."

"I'm going to bank as soon as I drop Scout off. You'll get it back today," he assured.

"I told you a hundred times," Luke told him, now holding up his hands towards Jess, "do not take money out of the register."

Jess just smirked as he said he had to run. He turned to open the door which Shelby opened for him since his hands were full. Luke tried one more time to remind Jess to replace the lid he had taken off from the donuts but the request fell on deaf ears.

Later that day, once Luke had some down time, he made a trip over to Gypsy's. He still had questions as to where Jess got the money to afford the car, so he started where the car had come from. Though, Gypsy wasn't much help either since she never asks where customers get the money they use to pay her. So, Luke just decided to do a little snooping, hoping to find anything that could be a clue. Though, the guy was so nervous about being caught, he nearly jumped out of his skin when the phone rang. Even searching through Jess' drawers and his side of the closet, along with the top drawer of their nightstand, Luke came up empty. Nothing that would explain anything. He tried getting Shelby to say anything more, but she really didn't know much. Though, for some reason, it took Jess a couple days to realize someone had been going through his stuff.

Luke had brought dinner up Sunday night. That was when Jess confronted him.

"Why are you going through my stuff?"

Luke tried to play dumb. "Huh?" he asked.

"Why are you going through all of my stuff."

He reached across the table to set Shelby's dinner on her place mat. "I'm not."

"So someone else is?" Jess questioned, holding his hands part way up. "Because I know Scout isn't."

"Younger siblings go through their older siblings' things. Your mom used to go through mine when we were kids. Not saying Shelby's guilty either."

Shelby shook her head, sitting on one leg, across from her dad. "Ta's no' nice. I wouldn' touch people's tings wi'ou' tear permission."

"Not to mention, Scout's nothing like Liz," Jess added. "I know _you're_ the one going through my stuff. Practically everything I own is in a slightly different place than when I saw it last. Now, why are you going through my stuff?"

Luke had gotten up to grab forks for the three of them. He turned back to finally say, "For your own good."

"For my own good?" scoffed Jess. "Can we be a little more totalitarian here?"

"Hey, how about I ask the question," Luke pointed out.

Jess folded his arms. "If it has to do with this, be my guest."

"Where you get the money for the car?"

"What?"

"The car. Where'd ya get the money?"

"I told you, I worked for it."

"I know what I pay you," Luke stated, not buying the answer at all.

"Okay, well," Jess stuttered, hesitating, "I do jobs around town."

"What jobs?"

"I clean rain gutters."

Luke still wasn't buying it. "Jess, even if you cleaned every rain gutter from here to Vermont, you wouldn't have enough money to buy that car. Now tell me where you got the money."

"I'm not just doing rain gutters when I'm not just working at the diner," he said, walking back over to the dresser.

Luke followed. "What are you doing?"

Jess started putting things away in a small chest he had on top of the dresser, stopping to glance over his shoulder. "I go to, uh, a place that gives me money."

"For what?"

He had turned forward again. Jess briefly lifted his head to stare at nothing. "For my services."

"What services? What place?" There was a long, awkward pause. Suddenly, a horrible thought crossed Luke's mind. Quickly, he told Shelby to cover her ears before asking Jess, "Are you a gigolo?"

Jess suddenly turned on his heel to stare at his uncle. "What?" he questioned in disbelief.

"Well, I don't know," Luke shrugged it off. "You say you go to a place where they give ya money…"

"I do."

"Where?"

Jess briefly paused before he finally admitted, "Wal-mart."

Luke went silent, staring at his nephew. "Excuse me?"

"I've been working there, twelve hours a week for the past few months to get extra money for the car."

"Wal-mart," he repeated, the shock still hadn't blown over.

"Yeah."

Luke questioned, "You work at Wal-mart?"

"Yeah," Jess repeated.

"I cannot picture you working at Wal-mart."

Going into his pockets, Jess pulled out a work badge, holding it up to show him.

Luke couldn't help laugh when he saw it. "Oh my God," he chuckled. "You work at Wal-mart."

Staring at his uncle, Jess made his way around him, back towards the table where Shelby was hunched over, her fingers still in her ears which he motioned she could remove them, asking for Luke to drop the matter now that he knew.

"Yeah, sure. Fine." Luke had followed him. But he didn't drop it. Instead, Luke asked, "you're not the guy who greets people at the door, are ya?"

"We were dropping this," Jess reminded him. "I work in the back. I move stock around on a forklift."

Luke had went over to the fridge, grabbing a couple kiwi-strawberry sodas for Jess and Shelby, and a beer for him. "That takes a special licence," he pointed out before setting the sodas on the table between the cousins. He opened Shelby's for her, and returned to his own seat.

"I spent a Saturday afternoon taking the class, and I got it like that. No biggie."

"Wow," Luke couldn't help grin from ear to ear.

"Are we done here?" Jess questioned in annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah," he lied. "You wear a vest and everything?" Now that Luke knew where his nephew worked, the questions and teasing just couldn't stop.

Jess had started to eat. "It's the uniform. I have to."

"You've been sneaking out with a little vest hidden on ya?"

"It's not a little vest," he corrected him, opening the clear container with his apple pie slice, letting the lid drop on the table with a slight clang.

"Is it blue?"

Jess quickly stared at his uncle. "Will you stop talking about the vest?"

"You get a store discount?" Luke continued.

He nodded. "Fifteen percent."

Luke couldn't help keep laughing about it. This was gold.

"And if you want fifteen percent off anything, you're not gonna get it because you're being a jerk."

"My enjoyment is worth the loss," he laughed, grabbing the ketchup from the fridge.

"I'm eating and ignoring you," Jess stated, his mouth full of food.

"Jess," Shelby interrupted, politely. Jess gladly acknowledged the kid to ignore his uncle. "Can I have fi'teen percen' off any-ting?"

"You bet, kid," Jess told her. "If there's a game you want, let me know and I'll see if we have it. We sell your cards, too. I can bring you back a pack."

Shelby smiled at that. "Tank you, Jess."

"You got it." He playfully punched her arm.

Luke, on the other hand, wasn't finished with his teasing. "Oh, you're like the all-American boy." Luke nodded his head, repeatedly.

"Call me Dirk Squarejaw," he replied with sarcasm without looking at him.

Luke continued. "Look at you."

"What?"

"Eating apple pie." He laughed.

Fed up, Jess got up from his seat, heading for the exit as he stated, "I'm outta here."

"Hey, wave a flag and sing _God Bless America_ , please."

Jess grabbed his jacket and left.

Luke chuckled to himself. That was when he noticed the look Shelby was giving him and she wasn't laughing either. "What?" he said with one final chuckle.

"You're mean, Dad," she stated. "Jess is righ'. You are being a jerk."

"What? I was just having some fun with him," Luke told her.

Shelby didn't let up. "'Till wasn' very nice," she said, shaking her head.

Though, Luke's enjoyment was only added when Jess found out someone had devil egged his car the very next morning. Luke and Shelby had decided to check out the town loner's protest to see what he was protesting. The sign ended up being turned the wrong way and ripped when the guy tried turning it around. When they were trying to figure out what the guy was saying, Shelby guessed he was trying to imitate a rooster. Possibly someone's pet was annoying him which Taylor pointed out nobody in town owned a rooster. During that time, Jess had called for Luke. Shelby followed when he made his way over.

"You see this?" Jess asked, upset someone egged his car.

Luke shrugged, "See what? What happened?"

"Someone egged my car."

Luke moved his head closer to get a better look but had to quickly move back, waving his hand through the air once he got a good whiff. "Geez, it stinks."

"It's gonna take me forever to clean this up."

"I'll help you, Jess," Shelby offered.

Jess playfully hit her against her arm above the cast. "Thanks, Scout."

Luke braved the smell to try and examine the splattered eggs. "These eggs are cooked," he realized.

"What?"

"They're not raw. They look like...deviled eggs."

"Someone devil egged my car."

"Well, that is paprika," said Luke.

"Someone prepared deviled eggs to throw at my car?" he questioned in disbelief.

Luke chuckled at it. "Man, they must hate you a lot. Hey, maybe it was the guy in the garden department."

Jess just glared at him. "I'm gonna go get something to clean this up. Come on, Scout." He cupped a hand around the back of Shelby's head, leading her towards the diner. Luke followed, continuing his jokes. Grabbing a bucket of hot, soapy water and a couple rags, the cousins got to work on scrubbing the deviled eggs off Jess' car. But not before Shelby gave her dad another swift, playful kick for as hard as she was allowed to without getting into trouble, for picking on Jess. Though, even then, Luke also had to wonder: who would prepare deviled eggs to throw at someone's car? Is that the new thing instead of using raw eggs?

* * *

 **Author's Note: I want to try and have the Christmas chapter uploaded on or by Christmas eve, but it's a long shot since there are a few chapters between that chapter and this one. We'll see.**


	57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

The following weekend, Shelby was invited to a sleepover at the twins' house who were going to a _Pokemon_ trading card game session at a comic book store. Shelby was so excited to go that she and the twins spent every minute they could, practicing. Luke reminded her not to practice during class or she wouldn't be allowed to go. So the kids spent both recess and lunch battling against each other. Friday afternoon while waiting on the twins' mom to come pick her up, Shelby tried once more to teach Lorelai how to play.

Lorelai drew a card with a picture of a golden yellow duck that held its head. "Ooh. This little guy is so cute. I play him." She set the card down in the center of the table.

Shelby leaned closer to get a better look at the card. "Ta's Psyduck. He's a wa-ter type," she explained. "Bu' he also has psychic a'tacks."

"So why isn't he a water/psychic type?" asked Rory, who was spectating the match, sitting beside them. Shelby had explained _Pokemon_ and each of the types of elements each one had.

She shrugged. "I don' know. Some _Pokemon_ can learn each o-ter's attacks. Like 'tarmie, who is also a wa-ter type, can learn t'underbol'."

"Well, Psyduck doesn't sound like a good name for a cutie like this," Lorelai stated. "His new name will be Quackers. Quackers the duck."

"Quackers?" Rory questioned of her mom.

"Yeah, like crackers, but he's a duck and ducks go quack." Turning back to Shelby, she asked, "hey, uh, Shelby. You think, instead of battling, your frog-plant thing can go get a milkshake and be friends?"

"Ba'toe-ing makes tem grow 'tronger so tey can evolve," she pointed out. "Tey like to ba'toe."

"I said it once, I'll say it again. That's not how evolution is supposed to work," Rory pointed out once more.

"I' is if i's a _Pokemon_."

"With logic like that, who can argue?" Lorelai snickered at the two girls.

Luke had been standing there, spectating as well while holding the coffee pot in his hand, making his rounds.

"I'm just saying. Things don't evolve because they gain a certain level or are touched by a rock. They evolve to adapt to their environment."

"I stopped questioning it when I started getting headaches from thinking about it too much," he shrugged. About that same time, the twins' mom walked in the diner. Shelby slid off her chair to go greet her best friends' mother, giving her a hug. With how much time the kid spent over at their house, Shelby had practically become a close friend to the whole family, including the twins' older brother. Cheryl greeted Luke and the Gilmores, making small talk while Shelby picked up her cards. Rory helped, grabbing her mom's since Shelby was still one-handed. Afterwards, Shelby gave Lorelai and Rory, a hug, and Luke, a hug and kiss good-bye before following Cheryl outside to her mini van.

Shelby of course had a blast at her friends' house, spending the whole weekend there, coming back Sunday evening. That's when Luke was finally able to take her shopping, having almost forgotten. They found a _Harry Potter_ costume in Shelby's size, who tried it on to show Jess, pretending to use the freeze spell that was used on one of the characters in the first book/movie. However, instead of pretending like he was frozen, Jess said he deflected it, while looking at his own book he was reading.

This year, Shelby didn't win any special awards during her school's halloween assembly. Her class did have a halloween party. Thankfully, Luke didn't have to take Shelby trick-or-treating this year. Instead, she went with Ethan and Alan, and their family, bringing home a ton of candy she couldn't touch until Luke inspected it. Jess tried once again to steal more than one piece of his cousin's candy.

"You know, if you ask nicely, you can have more tan one," she pointed out, matter-of-factly.

"Okay then. Can I please have more than one piece of candy since you have enough to open your own candy store?"

Shelby nodded. "Yes you may."

Grabbing a fun size Snickers, Jess pointed out, "You know, I don't recall anywhere in the book, Harry Potter ever wearing a baseball cap."

"You're su'posed to use your imagin-a-tion," she replied.

"Oooh," he said, as if he had gotten a revelation. "Okay. Got ya." Jess gave a wink at his cousin before telling her to come upstairs so they could work more on Shelby's speech sounds.

During the first week of November, Luke took Shelby back to the hospital to have her cast and pins removed. Dr. Lancaster took some more x-rays first, to make sure the joints healed properly which they seemed to heal up all nicely and assured he could remove the cast and the pins. One of the first things Dr. Lancaster asked, though, was, "No big brother, this time?"

Shelby shook her head.

"He had to work," Luke answered for her. "But he said he was bringing a surprise if Shelby took this like a champ." He smiled at Shelby, who stared up at him, nervously. Rory had made sure to assure the machine they used to cut the cast off was so harmless it couldn't even cut skin. It might even tickle, actually. The only downside was the machine was very loud which Shelby wanted Luke to cover her ears for her. Unfortunately, Rory didn't know anything about getting pins removed and Shelby thought she would have to have another surgery.

Dr. Lancaster cut the cast off first. While he started the process, Shelby repeatedly tapped her hand to her dad to remind him to cover her ears. Luke did, covering both his hands over her ears while she watched carefully. Once Dr. Lancaster was finished, he used a tool called spreaders to pull the cast apart and used special scissors to cut the padding underneath, leaving some around her elbow to use while he removes the pins since there would be some blood.

"Would you like to keep the cast, Shelby?" the doctor asked while he was taking the cast away, setting it on the tray where his supplies were.

Shelby shook her head. Her nose was scrunched up from the smell that was coming off her arm from not being washed for a month.

"No?" he chuckled. "It looks like you have a lot of friends there." Dr. Lancaster smiled between Shelby and her cast.

"Oh, yeah. Shelby was quite popular when she went back to school after getting it on." Luke was rubbing her back, in circles.

He chuckled at that.

Next, Dr. Lancaster prepared Shelby's elbow for the pin removal, applying some brown soap to the area, that reminds him where they had inserted each pin. Luke let Shelby squeeze onto his hand while she had to be really still. It didn't hurt when Dr. Lancaster twisted them, but Shelby did feel slight pain when he pulled the pins out, assuring her, he was trying to be as gentle as possible. Her eyes watered and she sucked in her lower lip, but Shelby held strong during the whole process. After Dr. Lancaster removed the last pin, he placed a piece of gauze over her elbow and wrapped it up as he explained she was to leave it on for twenty-four hours.

"They'll just be like tiny ant bites, though," he explained.

While the doctor was removing the pins, Luke had asked him how long it would be before Shelby could fully participate in sports and P.E. again. There was still some recovery left that would take another two weeks since her arm would be stiff from being immobile for a month. At that point, they would need to come back to make sure there wasn't any other complications and physical therapy wouldn't be needed, though it was rare when kids Shelby's age needed physical therapy.

Once they were all done, they said good-bye to Dr. Lancaster as Luke and Shelby were walked out. Well, Luke did. Of course, Shelby waved, giving him a thumb's up. Luke translated she was thanking him which he said, she was very welcomed.

Back at the diner, Luke let Shelby have a bowl of ice cream for having to go through that whole process.

"Can you bend it okay, kiddo?" he asked, making sure.

Shelby attempted it. Though, with her elbow wrapped in the ace bandage over the gauze, it was a little difficult. But she managed to bend as much as she could, nodding at him.

Jess got home around seven that night, holding something behind his back, telling Shelby to pick a hand. She picked the left hand. Jess pulled his hand out to show her a large plush toy of her favorite _Pokemon_ , Charizard, the large, orange, flying lizard with the flame on the end of its tail and dragon-like wings on his back. Her eyes widened and her mouth turned into a complete O shape at the sight of the toy, and suddenly jumped her cousin, wrapping her arms around his waist as Shelby squeezed the life out of him, or tried to at least, thanking him over and over again.

That same week, the second _Harry Potter_ movie was supposed to be in theaters, Jess promised he'd take her, going on a Friday. However, something seemed fishy when they returned and Luke asked how the movie was, and all they said was, it was great. He thought Shelby would be all excited, telling him all about it. Then Shelby started having nightmares again for the next week that made her climb into bed with Jess. When Luke tried to ask about it, Shelby just said the movie was scary at a couple parts so Luke just let it go, reminding her none of it was real.

Also, November also brought some other events as well. One was Luke's birthday which Shelby was the only one who knew it, buying a cupcake from Fran's with her own money, and made her dad a card. That was actually right after she got her cast off. A week after that, the town was holding its annual dance marathon which Luke got talked into setting up a coffee stand for the dancers. Lorelai had a little trouble finding a partner. When she did find one, he had to bail on her because his wife felt imtatidated by Lorelai, and had to ask Rory to do it. Shelby tagged along to help her dad which Rory questioned why she wasn't tired.

"She's used to waking up early with me," Luke explained. He had made a special batch beforehand, knowing the Gilmores wouldn't be able to wait while he got things set up. For the most part, while everyone danced, Shelby sat on the bleachers playing her Gameboy, occasionally watching. At one point, she ended up passing out and taking a nap during one of the breaks.

Lorelai had hurried over, asking if he'd seen Sookie or Jackson. At that point, Jackson had appeared beside her, looking upset. When he explained why, he said him and Sookie having kids were only up for discussion between them. When Luke overheard the term, four in four, he stated it was crazy, adding fuel to Jackson's already lit fire. He quickly added about having one kid in four years was crazy. As much as Luke loved Shelby, one was definitely enough. Though, none of his input was helping which Lorelai pointed out. It ended with Jackson storming off and Sookie running after him.

"Oh, they're gonna make great parents," Luke stated with sarcasm. Jackson's loudness actually ended up waking Shelby from her slumber. She lifted her head, peering around at her surroundings. Squatting to her level, he placed a hand on her back, assuring her it had just been Jackson. Since it was still early in the evening, Shelby sat up, rubbing a fist at her eye. Once she was fully awake, Shelby helped her dad for a bit before pulling out her Gameboy again. Bored himself, Luke watched her play her game for a short time, glancing up whenever someone was out, or whenever someone came over for some coffee and stood up to tend to them.

By midnight, Shelby was out, once again.

The dance marathon ended up lasting until around fiveish, Sunday morning when only Kirk and his dance partner was left standing. Lorelai and Rory tried staying in to beat him, but Lorelai's heel broke and had to use her yellow card to go ask Luke to fix it. He had to rush back to the diner to grab some glue, asking Lorelai if she could keep an eye on Shelby, who was still sleeping. Though, she probably will be waking up soon. When he returned, Sookie was there, talking with Lorelai. Things had finally smoothed over between her and Jackson, and things were at peace once again.

"Uh, listen," he told Lorelai as they sat on the bleacher in front of where Shelby laid on her stomach. "I didn't really mean all that stuff I said earlier."

Lorelai handed him the heel to her shoe.

"You know, the kid stuff." Luke squeezed some glue out of the small bottle onto the heel.

"It's no big deal," she shrugged, reaching for her shoe.

"Yeah, I know. I'm not really anti-kid as I might've come off."

"'Drop another sucker off?'"

"Okay, yes, I don't always have the patience for them. They tend to be sort of squishy, and it freaks me out a little. I mean, Shelby's great and I love her to death. Though, it's probably because she's a miniature version of me…"

Lorelai interrupted his rant. "Luke, you don't have to want more kids. Or like kids aside from Shelby. It's not for everybody. But you do still seem to be doing well with her. Shelby seems like a happy-go-lucky, sweet kid."

He shrugged, sticking the heel back on the shoe. "I know, but…" Luke took in a breath. "Although, I would be happy to go an entire day without having to deal with someone else's bodily functions." He shrugged some more. "If I ever happen to meet the right person…" He stopped to shrug again. "Well...it would be a discussion."

"A discussion," she nodded once.

"Yes. Probably a short discussion, but still…." Luke handed her the glue bottle so he could hold the shoe together while it dried. "What about you? You ever think about having another kid?"

"Oh, I don't know how much fun it'd be without biology finals and a headgear." Lorelai smirked which Luke gave a short chuckle. "But sure," she smiled. "If I ever happen to meet the right person, another kid might be nice." The two then shared a look between them, smiling at each other before quickly looking away.

"Your shoe will be ready in a minute," Luke told her, staring at the shoe while he continued to hold it.

"Thank you," Lorelai replied, staring at the floor. Neither one could make eye contact for a while.

Shelby though was wakened by the sound of an airhorn Miss Patty had blown when Kirk was announced the winner, sometime later, jolting out of a sound sleep. "Wha' was ta, Dad?" she asked, peering around through half closed eyes.

"An airhorn. Kirk just won the dance marathon, kiddo."

She sat up, rubbing her eye again. "So it's over?"

"Yep. It's over. We'll pack up and head home. Possibly get some sleep." Once she was awake, Luke asked if Shelby would help him serve the last batch to help everyone make it home. Afterwards, they packed up the coffee stand and headed for the diner.

Caesar worked the morning shift for Luke while he took a nap, taking over around lunchtime, giving the guy the rest of the day off. Shelby helped out all afternoon, with frequent breaks. One of which, Jess pulled her away, wanting to borrow her for a second to tell her something. When Luke asked about it later, she told him, happily that there wouldn't be anymore of Shane around, which surprised Luke. What really surprised him was when Shelby added who had taken the girl's place. But in a good, hopeful way. In fact, Luke thought it was great Jess was with Rory now. However, nobody was excited for it than Shelby was. When Lorelai and Rory came in the diner, Monday morning, though later than usual, she dashed right over to hug the older girl. Being still sore from the dance marathon, Rory couldn't hug back and told the kid to be careful.

Although, there was one person who wasn't thrilled for the new couple. Lorelai told him how she fought against the Jess thing, however, Rory made her choice and her daughter's happiness was more important, so Lorelai was just hoping for the best which Luke stated how romantic that was in sarcasm. She returned the gesture by reminding him how he had said, "finally" at the end of _Love Story_. Luke walked away in defeat to get her coffee.

During one of the times Rory stopped by the diner alone, Jess and Shelby came downstairs at that moment, suddenly changing her mind about being hungry.

"You know, I got that book upstairs," Jess suddenly pointed out, pointing over his shoulder.

"Oh," she replied. "The book we talked about."

"Yep."

"Great," Rory nodded.

"We can go upstairs and look at it," he suggested.

"Look at the book. Sure. Let's go upstairs and look at the book."

"Okay."

"Okay." Rory slid off her stool she was sitting on.

Luke listened as he poured the coffee. He knew exactly they weren't actually talking about a book. Shelby, on the other hand, who was volleying back and forth as the teens talked, piped in as they started for upstairs, "Can I come look at the book, too?"

Jess immediately stopped her. "It's not a book for children's eyes."

"Oh, is i' a dir-tee ma-ga-zine?" The response that came out of the little girl's mouth got the attention of both Luke and the teenagers.

Jess automatically stated in defence he did not teach her that, throwing his hands up.

"Shelby, where did you hear about those kinds of magazines?" Luke asked of his daughter, the shock still not washed over.

"From Alan," she answered. "He overheard his mom and dad talking to his bro'ter abou' finding one in his room."

"And what did Alan say?" Luke was really hoping he didn't need to already give Shelby the talk yet. He wasn't ready for that, at all.

"No'ting," Shelby shrugged. "Ta he wasn' supposed to have i' and kep' calling them, dir-tee ma-ga-zines and ta tey were only for adul's."

He felt himself blow a huge sigh of relief. But then came the questions.

"Why? Wha' is i'?"

Luke froze as Jess spoke up. "Well, good luck with that," he said and slapped his uncle on the shoulder, playfully, before heading upstairs with Rory. Luke stared down at the kid, who had her inquisitive expression on her face. Not knowing what else to say, he quickly tried to distract Shelby away from the question, by asking how school was since he hadn't gotten around to asking yet anyway. Thankfully, the subject was changed and hopefully Shelby forgot all about it.

When Rory's burger was ready, he took it upstairs, practically sprinting up there. Just as he opened the door, the two suddenly bolted away from each other. He gave her the burger, which she thanked him for it, and thanked Jess but couldn't remember that it was a book he was supposed to be showing her. Once she was gone, Luke sat the boy down and laid out some ground rules which Jess pointed out whether they should have him committed or if Luke would like to check himself in, and made a wisecrack about how he was dating Rory, not his cousin. But Luke made sure to tell him how serious he was which Luke thought would really work. However, though he's been a father for almost two years, he still had a lot to learn, especially involving the dating thing.

Lorelai and Rory stopped by the diner, a few days later, coming more prepared than most of his customers did as they unloaded a bag of tacos. He insisted they at least order a cup of coffee, a weird combination in his opinion, but this was Lorelai and Rory Gilmore he was dealing with. Lorelai tried to offer Shelby a taco until Luke stopped them there.

"Hold up there," he said.

"Wha'" she asked, innocently.

"You know what," Luke nodded towards her.

"Why can't she have a taco?" Lorelai questioned.

"Because this kid and Mexican food does not mix well. Last time I made burritos for dinner, we almost made her sleep downstairs in the diner because she kept farting throughout the night. But not before blowing up the bathroom before we went to bed." He noticed all three of them had started snickering when Luke said the word, farting, and continued all through while he was talking. It made him roll his eyes as he let out an annoyed sigh. "Besides, Shelby, you already ate dinner."

"But ta' was a long time ago."

"No, it wasn't a long time ago. It was an hour ago. If you are still hungry, you can go grab a piece of fruit from upstairs."

Frowning, Shelby gave the wrapped taco a gentle push back towards Lorelai."

"You're no fun, grumpy," Lorelai told him, unwrapping the first of her tacos.

"It's getting late and just about time for bed. Shelby doesn't need to be eating junk before bedtime." At that point, Jess came over, greeting Rory. "Please, I'll finish it," Luke said before chanting hi, over and over. "I'm getting the coffee." Giving Shelby one last warning, he went to fetch the coffee pot.

Jess stopped him as Luke walked by. "I gotta run out for a second to get a part for my car."

"Get a receipt this time," was all he said before Jess left.

"Hey, Luke," Lorelai called out to him as he made his way back over with the coffee in hand, "what's the record for most tacos eaten in a diner that actually doesn't sell tacos?"

He poured hers first. "I have no idea."

"Find out, will you," she replied with her mouth full of food, "'cause if it's less than five, we're famous!" Lorelai punched the air above her head.

"Where'd ya get those things, anyhow?" Luke poured Rory's next.

"New Haven."

"Really," he said, surprised. "The dump was closed?"

"We paid a little visit to Yale, today."

Shelby stared at them, strangely. "You visi'ed a fish, today?" which Lorelai explained it was a big college and Rory added she did not want to relive what happened before saying she was going to go study, saying bye to both Luke and Shelby.

When Rory was gone, Luke took her seat. "Uh, listen, I just want you to know I had a little talk with Jess."

Lorelai sounded surprised but in a slight mocking sort of way. "You did?"

"I did. I really laid down the law concerning him and Rory. Trust me. He now knows that I am going to be watching them every second they are together," he explained.

"Ah, good," she nodded, unconvinced.

"Yep."

"You know, they're together now."

"What?" Luke questioned, in disbelief.

"Yeah. 'I have to get a part for my car? I'm gonna go study?' That's kid code for meet me at the previously agreed location far away from my clueless uncle."

Luke stared at her, hoping she was kidding. "You're kidding me, right? You don't really think that…?"

Lorelai smirked at him, tilting her head to the side.

Once it sunk in, Luke hit the table in frustration. "Damn! They are. They're together. They used the kid code and now they're together."

"It's okay, Luke," she assured him.

"It's okay?" he questioned and held a hand out. "They are out there right now, doing God knows what, completely unsupervised!"

"Me and Jess aren' supervised," Shelby innocently pointed out.

"It's different from when you're together than when he's with Rory, kiddo," he explained to her.

"Oh, you mean when tey kiss?" she asked.

Lorelai was the one to answer the little girl, "Yes, sweetheart," receiving an "Oh." Luke turned back to Lorelai to demand how she could have let this happen. "Me?"

"Yes, you. I thought you were against this."

"I thought you were all 'this is so great, and Rory's gonna change Jess." she reminded him.

"What, is she a miracle worker? Come on, Lorelai. Wake up. The guy's trouble." Holding up a finger, he stated, "I have to find them," quickly standing to his feet. Luke called out to Caesar, he'll be back in a little while and asked if he could keep an eye on Shelby while he was gone before grabbing his jacket from the coat rack.

"You're seriously gonna run all over town looking for Jess and Rory?"

He held his hands on his sides as Luke hunched over to Lorelai's level. "If I have to, yes. And if you were really a concerned mother, you'd go out there with me."

"No, I can't do that. But if you like, I'll let you sniff Rory's sweater," she offered, mockingly. "Maybe her scent will help you track them down."

Luke stared at her. "The things you find amusing, astound me sometimes." He turned and headed for the door when he stepped back to actually grab Rory's sweater.

"You're not really gonna sniff it?"

"No, it's cold out. She might need it." At that, he turned and headed out the door. As he shut the door behind him, Luke heard Lorelai tell Shelby, something about feeling sorry for her once Shelby got to the dating age. In all honestly, Luke was not looking forward to that period of his little buddy's life, at all.


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Around late morning, the Monday before Thanksgiving, Luke got a phone call while he was in the back, taking inventory. One of his employees answered the phone, coming back there to let him know, stating it was Rebecca.

"This is Luke," he said when Luke held the phone to his ear once he walked out there to grab it.

"Luke, it's Rebecca. How are you?"

"Uh, I'm good. How are you?" Luke was a little confused and caught off guard from the phone call. Though he was glad she was keeping in touch. Rebecca had called before while Shelby was home, to check in and see how she was doing, but not being used to her aunt quite yet, the conversation was a bit one-sided. However, Rebecca knew the school hours, having gone to the school herself when they were kids, and her kids briefly went to Stars Hollow Elementary before they moved to Rhode Island to be closer to her parents.

Rebecca let out a tired sigh. "Busy. Lots to do, you know?"

"Uh, yeah. Plenty busy." He wasn't great at small talk so this was sort of stressing him out. "So, uh, Shelby's at school if you're wanting to talk to her."

"Oh, no. I wasn't calling for Shelby, this time. At least, not yet. First, I wanted to swing something passed you."

"Shoot," he gave her the okay.

"It's regarding Thanksgiving," she started. Before he could say anything about her taking Shelby for Thanksgiving, especially regarding being around Rebecca's father, she continued. "Now, I know Shelby's not comfortable around my father. I know all about that. But since last year, we all met for Thanksgiving, this year, it's gonna be swapped for Christmas. So, my parents are spending it with my father's brother and his wife and it'll just be our small family. Nobody else. Now, I know you had us have lunch there at the diner when we visited, but we were hoping if Shelby can come spend the holiday with us. If that's okay. And if you don't feel comfortable sending her on her own, you and your nephew are welcome as well. As long as we can spend time with Shelby, we'll take the whole package. Besides, we tend to make a lot of food on Thanksgiving anyway, so the more, the merrier. So, what do you think?"

"I appreciate the offer, but we actually have plans for Thanksgiving," he told her. "I keep the diner open, serving Thanksgiving dinner all day to friends and people passing through town. My cook and most of my crew have already requested the time off, so we'll be short staffed as it is. Sorry."

"So, I take it, I can't come pick up Shelby, the day before or the morning of?" Rebecca took a guess. "I mean, that doesn't exactly sound like that affects her in any way."

"Look, Thanksgiving is about family and I'd really like to have Shelby there to spend it with, especially when last year, Shelby wasn't exactly talking to me," Luke explained. It was hard reliving what had happened last year around this time and having snapped at and terrified Shelby. It still haunted him and never wanted something like that to ever happen again.

"That's understandable, I guess. Just thought I'd ask anyway." Even though Rebecca wasn't fighting him on it, she sounded disappointed.

Being the nice guy he was, Luke took a deep breath before he said, "I mean, you're welcome to come by. I usually make a ton of food."

"I'll have to talk it over with Mike, but yeah. That sounds reasonable. Thanks, Luke."

"No problem," he shrugged off, modestly.

"You going Black Friday shopping, Friday?" Of course, that was a big mistake bringing up Black Friday, producing one of Luke's rants about people going shopping during the late hours of the evening or early morning, after eating a big meal just to buy things that could risk one's life that they really did not need. Finally, Rebecca was able to interrupt, apologizing for even bringing it up. "You know, I distinctly remember a fourteen-year-old kid coming into the store I worked at during college and purchasing a _Star Trek_ shirt on Black Friday," she said, chuckling.

Luke quickly protested, keeping his voice down so the customers couldn't hear, a few of which knew him. "Hey, hey. Not so loud. People think my aunt gave me the shirt as a gift. I'd like to keep it that way."

"I'm pretty sure nobody believes that story, Luke, especially when your sister blabbed the truth."

"Wait, what?" Luke stared at nothing in particular.

"Yeah, Liz told somebody at the high school, who then told someone, starting a chain until eventually it got to my sister. I laughed when I heard and confirmed it was _you_ who bought it, not your aunt."

Luke groaned, now turning red in the face. Of course Liz would blab the truth to someone, most likely one of her friends.

"Oh, come on, I thought it was cute," she teased him. "I was just waiting to see if you got the Vulcan ears to go along with the shirt."

"Moving along now," Luke said, ending the topic, in a serious tone.

Rebecca continued to laugh but agreed to change the topic.

Later, that night, Luke laid down after coming out of the bathroom, fresh out of the shower and in his pajamas. With it being the start of the holiday season, the diner tended to be extra busy with people coming through. Luke was exhausted and couldn't wait to fall asleep.

As he laid there, rubbing the palms of his hands against his eyes, Luke felt the bed move. He removed them to see the cause of the movement, catching Shelby crawling over to where he laid.

Sitting back on her legs, Shelby hovered over him, leaning her hands on his side. "Are you okay, Dad?" she asked.

A yawn escaped at that point. Once it passed, he told her, "Yeah, just tired. Ready to hit the hay, like you should be doing."

Shelby sat back, moving her hands to her knees. She too had her pajamas on already, kind of similar to his, only her shirt was more a camouflage color. It was actually funny because when Jess first saw it, he mistook it for his, and got upset that it had shrunk in the dryer until Luke pointed out he had gotten one Shelby's size for her. It wasn't because she was copying him as that was her favorite color for some odd reason. Luke wasn't even sure if camouflage could be counted as a color. Regardless if it was or not, Shelby counted it as one.

"I jus' came over to make sure you go' tucked in," she said.

Luke couldn't help smile. "Oh, did ya, now?" He chuckled before reaching up to peck her on the cheek. It made her giggle actually and laid down next to him, reaching over to peck him right back. Luke smiled as he stared back at his little buddy. "What would I do without ya?"

Shelby innocently shrugged. "I don' know."

He nudged his forehead towards hers. "I love you so much, kiddo."

"Love you too, Dad," she replied.

Even though they were getting ready to go to bed, somehow the topic of the previous baseball season, including the World Series, came up, discussing their thoughts and opinions on the matter for the next thirty minutes. Shelby was not happy the Red Soxs did not make it the World Series but happily rooted for the Giants since they were closest to home, though the Angels ended up winning the World Series instead.

When a TH word was said a few times, Luke tried helping her pronounce it correctly, reminding her to use her tongue. After a few tries, it finally came out.

"Ta. Ta T-t-ta. Th-ah. The."

"You got it!" Luke suddenly praised when he heard Shelby say it.

Shelby lit up in excitement. "I did i'," she said. With some more struggle, Shelby managed to say it again. "The. The. The. The." Now able to get the word out, she couldn't help repeat it over and over again. Bolting to her feet, Shelby dashed across the room where he heard her tell Jess.

At first, Jess sounded really excited. "Alright," he exclaimed, which Luke couldn't help detect a hint of proudness for his cousin. Then he mellowed out and returned to his usual relaxed and laid-back manner as if it wasn't a huge deal. But the guy wasn't exactly fooling anyone. At least not his uncle.

Jess had Shelby say a few other TH words they had practiced together, also reminding her to use her tongue. After a few tries, Shelby was listing off words.

"Th-ey. They. Th-ere. There. Th-a'. Tha'. Th-ick. Thick. Th-ose. Those. I did i'! I go' the sound righ'."

"And we'll keep working on the ending T sound, but great job," he praised.

Luke couldn't help feel just as proud if not more as he continued to lay there, listening to the cousins. It had surely been one heck of a rocky road for the kid since trying to get her speech sounds down, and now they could check off one more from the list.

Rebecca got back to Luke, Wednesday morning and told him, her and Mike decided they'll come have Thanksgiving in Stars Hollow so they could see Shelby. So when he picked Shelby up from school, that afternoon, Luke gave her the news.

"Bu' Lor-lai and Rory are coming too, and I wan' to ea' wi-th them," she reminded him.

"Well, maybe you can have seconds with one of them, or dessert," he shrugged as they walked back to the diner.

Shelby shrugged up at him as she said, "Sure." However, when Lorelai and Rory stopped by the diner that afternoon, they had to tell them they wouldn't be able to make it, this year since Lorelai and Rory already had three Thanksgivings to go to. Not only was Shelby disappointed, but Luke was as well. But Lorelai shortly changed her mind and made arrangements where they would be able to stop by. Luke tried to assure her it wasn't a big deal and didn't want things to be overwhelming for them, but Lorelai assured him it was alright. It brightened Shelby up at least, who also double-checked to make sure it was okay.

Thursday morning, Luke got up at his usual time, getting dressed first before heading downstairs to start the first batch of coffee and to start cooking the first couple of turkeys. Shelby was the next one to wake up, coming downstairs, shortly after he finished with the coffee. She was wearing her Boston Celtics jersey over her long sleeved shirt, still going through her basketball phase.

"Hungry, kiddo?"

"Yeah," she replied. "But can I jus' have cer-re-o? I wan' to save room for today."

"Sure. Just give me a few minutes to toss the turkeys in the oven."

"Can I help?"

"Maybe later when I start making the potatoes and everything. How's that?" he suggested.

Shelby agreed.

Luke put the chairs down to let Shelby put out the napkin dispensers and condiments while he worked on the turkeys, making sure they were all fully stocked, filling a few salt shakers and napkin dispensers that weren't.

When he finally emerged from the kitchen, Shelby was on her last table. "Looking great, kiddo," Luke praised.

The kid looked up at him to smile. "Tank- th-ank you, Dad."

It made Luke smile to hear his little buddy catching herself and trying so hard to get the words down. "You are very welcome," he told her, proudly. It was extremely hinted in his voice, too. "Ready to go eat?" Luke motioned towards upstairs. His question was answered when the kid leaped off her chair and hurried over to the stairs.

While the turkeys roasted in the oven, Luke poured each of them a bowl of Cheerios upstairs, letting Shelby pour hers, and caught part of the parade as they sat on the couch. Though, while Shelby ate, she kneeled at the coffee table. So far, their second Thanksgiving together was a whole lot better than the first one. Shelby pointed out her favorite balloons to him.

Jess woke up around the beginning of the parade, heading straight for the bathroom. When he returned, the _Sesame Street_ float was passing by.

"I used to watch _Sesame 'treet_ ," Shelby said once the characters stopped singing.

"You did, huh?" Luke answered, slouched next to her.

She nodded. "Elmo was my favori'e. I watched i' as much as I could."

"You know who else used to watch it a lot?"he asked, glancing over at Jess, who had stopped to watch for no particular reason other than it was on. Jess must have caught onto what his uncle was implying too.

"We don't need to bring that up."

"I remember for the first four or five years, that's always what you wanted to watch," Luke chuckled, teasing the guy once more. It made Jess start to blush red. "And every time I came up there to visit you and your mom, you would be dragging Big Bird around with ya. I'm pretty sure that was your first word."

However, this time, Jess had something to retaliate with. "Oh, yeah?" The young man made his way over to the end table beside the couch, strolling a finger along the spines of several books and photo albums until pulling out one of the albums. He flipped through the pages until stopping on one. "Here, Scout. Check out your dad when he was in _**his**_ _Sesame Street_ phase.

The smirk Luke was still wearing quickly disappeared when he remembered his own attachment to those colorful puppet characters as a small child. There was one of him laying on the floor in front of an old black and white TV, watching _Sesame Street_. In his arms on either side of him were Glover, Elmo, Bird Bird, Ernie, and Bert. The shade of red that previously lit up Jess' face was now lighting up Luke's.

"Payback," Jess couldn't help snicker.

Meanwhile, Shelby was in awe. This was a different photo album than the one they went through for the book she made him for Christmas, the year before.

"Tha's you, Dad?" she asked, looking up at him while pointing at the photo of a four-year-old Luke.

Letting out a sigh, giving in, he told her, "Yep, that's me, kiddo. I think I was about four in that picture. _Sesame Street_ started a year before that."

The biggest thing to point out was the fact there was no hat. "You didn' wear a ha' when you were four?"

"Not at that age. When I got a little older and your grandparents got me on a team, I started wearing one."

Shelby continued looking as Jess headed for the door, stating he was going to go grab some coffee. This album was mostly of when Luke and his sister were little before their mother passed. Possibly that was why he never thought to show this album to Shelby. In fact, there were a few pages Shelby had to pull apart, apparent it had been a long time since this got looked through. She ended up starting at the beginning where there were four photos of Luke as a baby, at different times. Seeing his mother again, he couldn't help feel a lump form in his throat he tried to swallow.

"Tha' Grandma and Grandpa?" she pointed to a photo of Luke and his parents, taken before Liz was born. Luke was sitting on his mother's lap with William sitting beside them. He seemed like a very happy baby. Lorelai would have made a crack about this being before he turned grumpy, if she were here.

"Yep," Luke put in all he could muster to swallow, "that's your grandma and grandpa." Of course this had to happen a week before the anniversary of his father's passing. Either it was noticeable or his kid was that good, because she closed the album to lift onto her knees, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I's okay, Dad." Shelby comforted her dad as she held her arms around him.

Luke couldn't help smile at the gesture, holding an arm around her. "Thanks, kiddo," he told her.

"You're welcome," she replied before pulling away.

"Hey, how about, not this weekend, but next weekend, we go camping. You and me. How's that sound to you?"

Shelby lit up like a Christmas tree. "Yeah, can we?"

Luke chuckled. "You bet, kiddo." Stealing a look over at the photo album, knowing there were even more that he hadn't touched since both of his parents' passings, it might be a good idea to share them with his daughter. Luke turned back to her. "And maybe while we're at our spot, maybe we can look at more pictures I haven't gotten around to showing ya. How's that?"

"Okay," she shrugged and then declared, "I can' wai' till next Saturday."

It made Luke laugh. "Neither can I, kiddo." Scooting towards the edge of the couch, he told her, "Come on, let's get Thanksgiving started."

Downstairs, Luke fixed a tiny corner of the kitchen where Shelby peeled potatoes while Luke and John took care of the rest, and Jess took orders and refilled customers' coffee and drinks. Eventually, the first round of food was ready. Jess asked if he could eat but Luke told him to wait until Lorelai and Rory got there. Since they were stopping by late in the afternoon, Rebecca and her family arrived first.

Shelby hugged both her aunt and uncle. When the boys hugged her, Luke couldn't help notice Jess was watching like a hawk, close by, tensing up when one of the boys held her head and rubbed the top of it with their knuckles, repeatedly while Shelby tried to squirm away. It was Rebecca who told him to let go.

Luke offered them a table and had Jess bring them their drinks.

"Hey, Jess, how about later, you join us for a football game at the park?" Keith asked.

"No, thanks," he declined, politely as he poured coffee for Rebecca and Mike before walking away before they could start begging.

Before Luke headed back to the kitchen, Shelby gently tugged on his flannel shirt. Lowering his ear for her, he asked, "What, kiddo?"

"I don' wan' to ea' until Lor-lai and Rory ge' here," she whispered softly for only him to hear.

"We said you can have seconds or dessert with them, remember?" he reminded her but Shelby shook her head, looking up at him, pitifully.

"I was hoping tey...th-ey would ge' here before they did."

"Okay, well…" Luke paused for a moment. "Can you visit with them until they get here, at least?"

Shelby nodded.

"What's wrong?" Rebecca asked when Luke stood up straight once more.

"Shelby wants to wait until our friends gets here to eat," he explained.

"Oh, well, we can wait too," she shrugged.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. There's no point in eating in front of her." Rebecca checked with her husband and boys, also agreeing they could wait. Luke at least offered to bring them some rolls to tide them over while they wait. In the meantime, they asked Shelby how things have been since they were last there, not receiving any verbal responses.

Jess wasn't the only one who kept an eye on them. Luke too kept coming by and glancing over there, making sure Shelby was alright. She did get up to go greet those who walked in, whom she knew, such as Babette and Morey. However, she couldn't hug Kirk when he came by since the poor guy was covered in scratches over sixty percent of his body. When Shelby learned Kirk had gotten a cat, she dashed right over to Luke, to protest the fact Kirk was allowed to have a pet but not her, even though Luke hadn't actually given her an answer yet. He caved and assured her, they'd talk about it later, adding they weren't getting a cat. Shelby tried to object until he said he'd take back letting her have a pet.

Shelby did go back over to Kirk to make sure he was alright.

Eventually, Lorelai and Rory stopped by, bringing flowers, thus starting Lorelai and Luke's tradition of arguing about the flowers, ending with Rory reminding them to put the flowers on the counter and forget it ever happened.

When Lorelai noticed Rebecca, she mistook her for Rachel at first.

"That's Rachel's sister, Rebecca," Luke explained.

"Wow, they look almost identical," Rory pointed out.

"Rebecca is the oldest while Rachel is the youngest, with three boys in between them."

"That sounds like a big family," Lorelai said.

Rebecca came over. "If you think that's big, you should see my mother's side of the family," she laughed. "She has nine brothers and sisters. Six brothers and four sisters."

Lorelai gave a short whistle. "Wow, that's quite a family you have there."

"Two of my uncles already passed, along with our grandparents. The rest are scattered throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island." She then held out her hand, introducing herself.

"I'm Lorelai, and this is my daughter, Rory," Lorelai replied which Rory said hi.

"You must be very special. Shelby wouldn't eat until you got here," Rebecca told them.

Lorelai smiled down at the little girl. "Oh, sweetheart, you didn't have to wait for us."

Shelby motioned for her ear, whispering into it.

"Okay, then." Lorelai stood up straight again.

Pushing two tables together, the ten of them sat together while they ate. Before sitting down, both Jess and Rory kissed briefly while Luke and John brought out each person's plate. Rebecca's family bowed their heads. Rory got the rest of them's attention, motioning to do the same to be polite as they listened to Mike saying, grace. It made Shelby happy at least.

"So where are you guys in your day?" Luke asked Lorelai and Rory once Mike was finished.

Rory was the one to answer. "We hit the Kims', we hit Sookie's, and we go to the grandparents from here."

"Full day," Lorelai added.

"Well, you can skip eating this one if you want," Luke assured them. "Just have Cokes or something. It's no big deal." He turned back to his food.

"No. No way," she told him. "You're the main event today, my friend." That made both Luke and Shelby smile to hear that.

"So, I guess it's safe to assume you're together?" Mike pointed out from Jess' right, sitting catty-corner from Luke and Lorelai.

Both Lorelai and Luke stared at him, nearly dropping what was on their forks. "W-what?"

"Michael," Rebecca scolded, on his right, apologizing to them for her husband.

"What?" he shrugged, innocently. "I saw the way they looked at each other and just assumed. No biggie."

"Uh," Lorelai switched between Luke and Mike, confused. "Looked how?"

"Like how Becca and I used to look at each other while we were dating. In fact," Mike leaned over, closer to his wife. "Still do." They then kissed each other for a moment, grossing out the kids, including Shelby. Rory, Jess, and Lorelai tried to concentrate on their food.

Luke broke it up before Lorelai assured Mike, they were just friends. Then the get-to-know-you questions started, going into a conversation. Lorelai had ended up asking about Rachel which Luke quickly changed the conversation, motioning towards Shelby reminding them she was still sitting there. Rory actually grew interested when the youngest boy, Kevin was already planning on going to Harvard and was just starting middle school. She gave him a few tips she had learned along the way, including not to choose Hillary Clinton for his essay topic when he applies as that's what Harvard would be expecting.

"Oh. That's actually what I was thinking on choosing," he stated.

"Don't worry. Just be yourself, and make sure your credentials reflect you and what you want to major in," she assured him.

"Okay. Thanks."

"No problem."

Kenneth snickered into his food. "Nerd," he teased his younger brother which Kevin protested about.

Mike got on the boy for picking on his brother.

After a slice of pie, Lorelai and Rory had to head out. Shelby gave them each a hug, good-bye, not liking they had to leave.

"Can I come over this weekend?" she asked Lorelai.

"Um, let me check in at the inn first, tomorrow. We'd probably be busy this weekend."

"I can help," Shelby offered. "I don' mind."

Lorelai smiled at the little girl's willingness to help. "If it's okay with your dad, then maybe we can work something out this weekend. Okay?"

"Okay."

Returning the hug, Lorelai then stood up to leave.

With bellies full, Mike suggested a game of football at the park, smacking Luke on the shoulder.

"I have a diner to run," he pointed out, declining the suggestion as Luke rubbed where the guy had smacked him.

Mike turned on Jess. "How about you, Ponyboy? Are you sure you don't want to join us?"

"I'm sure," he said, slightly bitter at being called Ponyboy. But when Shelby agreed to go with them, Luke softly suggested Jess go with them. "Way ahead of ya." Jess hurried after, pretending like he had changed his mind.

They headed over to the park where Luke could see from the window, also keeping an eye on them. Rebecca went with them as a cheerleader so Shelby was the only girl playing. It was apparent Jess made sure to have her on his team.

The game went on for two and a half hours. By the time they finally called it quits, Jess was staggering into the diner, collapsing in a chair closest to the door, gasping for air. Even in the chilly November air, sweat beaded down his face, making the front of his hair stick to his forehead.

"W-water...pl-please," he raised a hand.

Luke brought two glasses of water, one for Shelby as well, setting them on the table. Though, the glasses barely touched before Jess grabbed them both and chugged all of the water down, letting out a relieved sigh afterwards.

"Uh," Luke was at a loss. "Two things. One, one of those was for your cousin. Remember her? You share a room with her?"

"Uh, yeah." The young man glanced inside the glass meant for Shelby. "Sorry about that, Scout."

"I's okay, Jess," she instantly forgave him. Shelby didn't seem that out of breath than her cousin was. Of course, she was still technically a little kid with a lot of energy and used to playing sports, or anything involving being active.

Luke left to grab another glass of water for Shelby. "How do you survive at work?" he questioned once he returned, making sure she had it this time.

Jess was still breathing hard, but not as much as before. "I move boxes and crates around mostly while driving a forklift. I don't run laps while trying to protect a deformed ball."

Mike chuckled. "You're just out of shape," he said. "Kev maybe a bookworm, himself. He still puts the book down, now and then, to get out and toss a ball, or run."

Jess ignored the guy. Staggering back onto his feet, he headed upstairs, telling Luke he was going to go shower.

"I didn't mean to imply anything," Mike told Luke.

"I'm sure it's fine," Luke assured him, glancing at Mike. He looked back where his nephew had gone.

Once the cooldown had passed, Luke offered dessert, making sure Shelby knew there were still apple pie for her and not just pumpkin. After pie and coffee, milk for the younger ones, Rebecca and her clan said their good-byes. Each one took their turn, hugging Shelby. Luke reached a breaking point after Mike and the two oldest boys called her, munchkin, seeing the slight annoyed expression on the little girl's face.

"Can you please stop calling her, munchkin? Shelby doesn't like it."

"We weren't saying it to be mean," Kenneth was the one to point out.

"We know, but Shelby still doesn't like it. So, if you can ease off, that could help a lot." Thankfully, Rebecca backed him up which Luke thanked her for as he and Shelby walked them outside.

While Mike and the boys interacted with Shelby, Rebecca stood back a few steps with Luke, facing him. "Listen, my sister told me the situation with your nephew and what happened," she said.

Luke wasn't sure what to say. Of course Rachel would share that with her sister.

"I don't really have a side there, as I don't know the full story. I mean, I'd be worried too if I had been in Rachel's place. But after seeing your nephew today during the game," Rebecca shrugged, holding it for a moment.

He looked at her puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"Kevin isn't as athletic as his brothers are. He still tries and enjoys sports, but it's not where he shines. School is where he mostly excels. I guess that's why they put him on Shelby and Jess' team."

"Okay." It was still unclear what she was talking about.

"Not only did your nephew look out for Shelby, because I'm pretty sure that's why he changed his mind about joining us." She smiled when Luke tried to look away, denying he had no idea. "Sure," Rebecca teased him. "I'm sure you were watching, too. Not sure if you could tell though, but he was helping out Kevin too. That kid has never been able to score against his dad or his brothers without them going easy on him. I don't know how Jess did it, but Kevin was extremely happy when he scored that touchdown."

His eyebrows rose at that. He was surprised but impressed. "Really? Jess helped him?" Luke didn't even know Jess knew anything about football, much less sports in general. Unless one counted wrestling as a sport. Jess and Shelby had gotten into watching wrestling together and then having their own matches, discussing about it the way Luke and Shelby talks about baseball.

"It was really nice what he did for him. For both of them. Tell Jess, thanks for me, would ya?"

"I will," he said.

Rebecca then turned and headed over to Shelby and her boys. "Alright, you guys. We have a long drive ahead of us. So let's move those keisters." Waving good-bye to Shelby, Rebecca and her family piled into Mike's SUV. As Luke watched them, he couldn't help notice flames shoot through the air near where Sookie lived. His attention was snapped to attention when the boys yelled bye to him and Shelby, followed by a thank-you for the food.

"No problem," he assured them, modestly and waved back as Mike pulled away from the curb. "You have fun, today, Shell?"

"Um," Shelby hesitated as if to think on it. She then smiled. "Yeah, I had fun."

"Did you know Jess knew how to play football?"

Shelby shook her head. "Jess made up every play. He said we were doing prison rules."

His head immediately dropped at the sound of his nephew coming up with prison rules to play a game of football. Figures. "How was your aunt and uncle okay with that?" he questioned in surprise.

"Uncle Mike said, as long as nobody go' seriously hur', i' was okay."

Luke let out a sigh. "Come on, let's start cleaning up, kiddo." Luke led Shelby inside so they could start cleaning. Jess joined in when he returned downstairs per Luke's request.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: This took longer than I expected to finish and I apologize for the long wait. Hopefully I can get another out before Christmas. There is at least one more before the Christmas chapter, too.**_


	59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Luke went shopping for everything they needed while Shelby was at school, the Friday right before their camping trip. They made sure to have everything packed and ready to go the night before, and first thing, Saturday morning, Luke and Shelby packed up the truck and were heading out of town before sunrise when the town's streets were still dead and quiet.

Truthfully, Luke worried about leaving Jess home alone now that he was dating Rory, so he left Caesar, not only in charge of the diner, but them as well, letting the guy have full access to the fridge so Caesar had an excuse to go up there, now and then.

The radio was playing a country song as Shelby sang along. "Dad," she said, after singing along to Blake Shelton's song, _Austin_.

"Hm?" he acknowledged her.

"If i' takes a year for Mom to come back like it took Austin, tha's okay."

Luke glanced over at his little buddy, mainly keeping an eye on the road ahead. "Yeah?" he forced a smile.

Shelby nodded. "Uh huh."

Luke stared ahead, unable to say more. This was killing him so much, keeping what he had done, from Shelby. However, he managed to ask, "What if she doesn't?"

Shelby went silent at that. Why the hell did he just ask that for? _Luke, you're an idiot!_ After a moment, she just shrugged a shoulder. "I have you, and Jess, and Lor-lai, and Rory, and Miss Pa'ty, and Buh-be', and Morey, and also C-zur. And Aun' Rebecca came back, too." Shelby gave another shrug. But things grew silent again which she looked away to stare out her window.

Luke watched out of the corner of his eye. Finally, a sigh escaped under his breath. "Shell," he said. "If you want to talk about your mom, I'm all ears." Luke saw her gaze drop from the window as if she was thinking on it.

"I's okay."

He glanced over at her, holding it a little bit longer. "You sure, kiddo?"

Shelby nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure." Things were quiet for the rest of the drive to their campsite, except while she sang along to the radio. Luke thought on it and thought of letting Rachel come back, but then he thought of the chance of Rachel finding some excuse to leave again. She always did. The woman never could stay in one place and that's exactly who Rachel was. There was no denying it. She couldn't even keep a promise to their kid. Luke could handle it, but he didn't want to put Shelby through through that again. That's the only reason that made him keep this tough decision to himself and hoped things would fix themselves.

Luke pulled up to the campsite around mid morning. First thing they did was take their usual hiking trip, walking along the trails Luke and Shelby took. Occasionally, Shelby would climb on and jump off large rocks they would pass, landing on her feet. The sound of her laughter lifted his spirits as Luke watched Shelby sprint from rock to rock, seeming like she was having a grand old time. Though, he did cringe right as she leaped off, not wanting his little buddy to get hurt.

When they passed a creek, Luke re-showed Shelby, how to skip rocks, making sure to find the flattest rocks they could find. Hers mostly skipped once before plopping right down in the water. But the best part of their hike was when a wild deer had wandered up to the creek while they were skipping rocks.

Luke was the first to spot the creature and quickly stopped Shelby from tossing the rock in her hand, making sure to whisper as softly as he could, pointing her attention towards it. Shelby looked over in the direction of the deer and stared at it in awe as they watched. The deer stood on the bank, reaching its head low enough to take a long drink. Luke and Shelby remained really still, trying hard not to scare the creature. Its ears twitched while the deer took a drink.

After a while, the deer had its fill of water and moved on. That's when Luke and Shelby moved on, as well. They eventually got back to the campsite and started pitching their tent. Once the tent was set up, Luke grabbed the fishing gear from the truck bed, passing what Shelby could hold, to her, and carried the rest over to their spot by the lake. Casting their lines out onto the water, Luke and Shelby sat there to begin the long wait for a bite.

For the first hour, things were quiet except for the birds constant singing and chirping, as well as the sound of the lake tide moving along. After a while, Shelby ended up leaning against her dad which he wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her upper arm, up and down as they stared ahead. As the first hour turned into the second hour, the silence continued. The nature sounds helped relax them. Shelby ended up falling asleep and taking a short nap. A quick tug on her line, though, jolted Shelby out of her sleep as she jumped up. Luke was also quick at attention, cheering Shelby on as she reeled in the fish.

The fish ended up not being that big so Shelby tossed it back. She attached more bait to her hook and cast the line back out with her dad's. That's when she asked Luke to tell the stories he had told her before about her grandfather, wanting to hear about their camping trips even though she heard them all. Luke told them once again as Shelby hung onto every word. He even told the cheese story.

Shelby laughed at the parts she found funny. "Grandpa is awesome," she said.

"That he is." Luke couldn't help smile. If only the two could have met. He was pretty sure his father would have loved Shelby. Liz never wanted to go fishing, or even go camping for that matter so he only took Luke. Though Luke could see he wished she did as each time they went, William would again ask. There wasn't really much the two could bond over and so Liz spent most of her time with friends instead, doing her own thing.

"How come you never talk abou' your mom?" Shelby stared up at him, squinting from the sun. "Didn' you love her?"

His gaze dropped to the ground. "Yeah, I loved my mom. Of course." He managed to reply.

"Then how come you never really talk abou' her? Is i' because I never asked?"

"Uh, yeah," he lied. "What would you like to know about her?"

She shrugged. "Wha' was she like? Was Grandma nice?"

"She was very nice. Sweetest lady you would ever meet."

"Would Grandma like me, too?"

"You betcha, kiddo," Luke smiled at her.

"Did she ge' sick like Grandpa did?"

Luke looked at the ground again, moving his foot back and forth to try and kick a rock that was underneath it. "Yeah, kiddo. I was about your age when she got really sick. Doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong." His voice trailed off as a memory he had pushed so far back into his mind, started to resurface. It was actually one of the reasons he didn't like hospitals, the reason he never talks about.

Suddenly, Luke felt a hand on his knee. He looked over at Shelby, giving him a sympathetic look. Smiling, Luke leaned over to touch his forehead to hers and leaned back to wrap an arm around her, kissing the top of her hat.

Since the fish wasn't biting that much, Luke cooked the stew he usually made whenever they went camping. It was chilly during the day but once the sun went down, it turned even more colder so they made sure to stay as close to the fire as possible without getting burned. Luke had packed extra blankets which Shelby got one from inside the tent, to wrap up in.

After they ate dinner, Luke brought out the stuff to make s'mores. Instead of birds singing and chirping, they were replaced by pure silence. There was an occasional sound of an owl hooting, somewhere off in the distance. The lake was calm but every once in a while they could hear it. The fire crackled and popped repeatedly as the two roasted marshmallows. Once their bellies were full, Luke put the fire out when Shelby had the flashlight, and the two headed inside.

Luke turned on the Coleman lantern, filling the tent with fluorescent light while Shelby removed her shoes, setting them by the closed tent flap. "Can you put mine over there with yours, Shell?" he asked, removing his to pass to her. Shelby took each one, one at a time, setting them next to hers. They sat on top of their sleeping bags. Shelby already wanted to get underneath all of the blankets they had brought with them. That's when Luke got out the photo albums he had promised. "Ready?"

Shelby nodded.

Luke had to pause to take in a deep breath before opening the album. He skipped passed the front page of when he was a baby since they had already seen them. Shelby scooted a little more closer to get a better look as he told her about each photo. He pointed at one of him at age five, standing on a chair beside his mother, both of them twisted around to look behind them at the camera. "That was taken when I about five years old. Your grandmother would teach me to cook, sometimes. Which looking back, was probably a good thing, on the count of, your grandfather didn't really know how to cook that well," he explained, chuckling a little.

"Grandma taugh' you how to cook?" she asked, very intrigued.

"Yep. She figured I should know how to do more than just make a piece of toast when I grew up and moved out on my own." It wasn't like William was completely useless when it came to preparing meals. He knew the basics and they were well fed. It was just that his cooking never really came close to tasting like his wife's cooking.

Shelby turned the page for her dad, turning to a page of when Liz was born. There was one where a young Luke was sitting on a couch, holding his baby sister on his lap.

"That was taken when your aunt Liz was born," he explained, pointing to the photo. There were also ones of William holding Liz, along with ones of their mother holding her, and of the four of them together on the same couch. William was holding a three-year-old Luke on his knee while their mother held Liz in her arms.

There were photos of both Luke and Liz throughout as they grew older. One of them was a photo of the two of them in their swimsuits each holding an ice cream cone. Luke seemed to remain clean while Liz being three in the photo, had ice cream spilled around her mouth and dripping onto the front of her yellow checkered one-piece swimsuit and on her fingers. Another showed a seven-year-old Luke sitting on a red-framed kid's bike while a four-year-old Liz sat on the handlebars.

"Ethan let me do tha' when I had my cast on," Shelby pointed at the photo, "and I couldn't ride my bike."

Luke chuckled. "Yeah, Liz always wanted to ride on my handlebars because she could never keep up with me on her tricycle."

"Wha's a tri-ci-co?" she asked.

"It's like a bike but it has three wheels instead of two," he explained. Surprise sunk in afterwards. "You never heard of a tricycle?"

"Yeah, bu' I though' they were called big wheels."

"Maybe they just changed the name from what they called it when I was a kid," Luke shrugged before turning the page. The very next pages were ones dedicated to both kids with their mother. The first photos had her kneeled between them while holding her arms around the kids. Luke and Liz were both dressed up. He guessed it was Easter Sunday as Luke recognized the dress Liz was wearing as one of her Easter dressings. Their mother was a big sewer as well as a cook, who used to make a lot of her kids' clothes, especially for nice occasions.

"You look handsome, Dad," Shelby complimented him.

"Thanks, kiddo." Luke hugged her to him with one arm, kissing the top of her hat again. There were more photos of Luke with his _Sesame Street_ toys, as well of some photos of Luke playing little league. A huge lump formed in his throat when they came to one of Luke and Liz sitting on a hospital bed on either side of their mother. She looked tired and feeble but seemed to be holding strong for her family's sake. Luke felt his face grow hot of fresh sadness as he knew this wasn't long before the day they had lost her. Soon, he felt Shelby running a hand along his back like he usually did for her when she was sad. Luke smiled for her. When he looked back at the photo his eyes locked onto his mother's and then it dawned on him. The eyes that were peering back at him from the photo where the same ones that belonged to his little buddy. All this time Luke thought Shelby had his eyes when in actuality, she had his own mother's. In fact…

Luke flipped back to a previous page, finding a random one of his mother.

Shelby had been startled when he had suddenly started fanning the pages. "Wha's wrong?"

He didn't answer. At least not at first. He stopped on one taken on his very first day of school, holding hands with his mother. Luke studied the photo, most importantly, his mother. Her hair was the same color as his but longer. About the same length Shelby's was, only a lot less messy.

Setting the photo album in front of him, Luke picked up the other one he had brought. This album had photos of his mother's side of the family, including ones of her growing up. Unfortunately, they were all in black and white. Not all of his and his sister's photos growing up were in black and white. Eventually, their parents had been able to purchase a colored camera, so it was hard to tell but for the most of it, Luke could see there was some resemblance between grandmother and granddaughter. Shelby even caught onto it when she pointed it out.

"That's your grandmother when she was about your age," he told her, proudly.

"So, I look like Grandma?" she asked.

"Guess so." He smiled. So in a sense, Luke had his mom back. Or at least a part of her. Why not? Jess sort of resembled their grandfather.

They continued looking through the album as Luke pointed out Shelby's two great aunts, her grandmother's two younger sisters. One passed away when she was four from pneumonia, while the other passed away a few years ago. A year after Shelby was born, actually. Luke's grandfather had been killed during the war, leaving his grandmother to raise all three girls on her own. Two years later was when the youngest got sick. It was hard on his grandmother. So much so, his mother had took over, looking after her other little sister and even her mother. Luke explained all of this to Shelby, in terms she could understand as they looked through the album.

Looking through photos made time get away from them before Luke realized how late it had gotten. Shelby had yawned which made him look at his watch. Setting both photo albums off to the side, Luke and Shelby laid down. He turned the light off, now engulfing the tent into complete darkness.

Shelby curled up close to her dad, cuddling beside him, sharing the blankets with him. As they slept, Luke kept a protective arm around his little buddy.

The next morning, Luke relit the campfire, fixing scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast. Early birds were chirping away once again somewhere off in the distance as they sat there, eating. It had been quite a while since the two of them played catch with one another so Shelby asked if they could. Over the next couple of hours, her and Luke tossed the ball back and forth. Both of them seemed to have fun even when one or the other missed catching a throw. When they got tired, Luke suggested fishing one last time before calling it quits and head home. This time, Luke caught a tiny trout but the fish wasn't really biting. Didn't mean it was a bad time, though.

It was on the way home that Luke finally decided to cave. "Hey, Shell."

Shelby was looking out her window when she looked over at her dad. "Yeah?"

"You still want a pet?"

If she hadn't been wearing a seatbelt the kid would have shot right through the roof of the truck. Excitement showed all over her face as Shelby nodded. "Yeah. Does tha' mean I can have one?"

Sighing under his breath, he said, "If you want a pet then yes." Luke couldn't believe he was going to let an animal live under the same roof as him. Not to mention, looking at old photos did remind him that at one point, he too wanted a pet. But William had said no right away and there was no discussing it. As much as Luke loved his father, he couldn't help remember how disappointed he was.

Shelby cheered, happily. In fact, Luke couldn't recall her ever sounding this happy.

"This will be your responsibility, though," he made sure to tell her. "I will help you, but I need you to be on top of making sure its fed, watered, and keeping an eye if it needs it cage or bowl clean. Understand?"

Shelby nodded. "I promise. I took good care of Harvey. Remember, Dad?"

"I remember, and yes, you did take good care of Harvey." After the first time of not making sure the latch to the cage was closed, Shelby did do better in showing him how responsible she could be and Luke really did have faith his kid could take care of a pet, full time.

On the way home, they stopped in Woodbury, where the nearest pet store was. As soon as he stepped foot in the store, the smell of several different animals struck his nostrils and hoped there was an animal here that Shelby would want, that wouldn't stink up the apartment.

Luke followed his daughter around, letting her lead the way. The only rule was no dogs and no cats since they didn't have a yard, and Luke just hated cats in general. He added snakes to the list when Shelby tried asking. That's just what they needed: a snake to get loose in the diner. No thanks.

It wasn't until they passed the snakes and came to the lizard section was when Shelby instantly fell in love and knew exactly what she wanted. She rushed right over to a tank of lizards, looking inside. The name tag below the tank said they were leopard geckos.

A young woman with her blond hair in a ponytail had wandered over. She was wearing a uniform for the pet store. "Can I help you with anything?"

Luke looked over at the young woman. "Uh, we were browsing for a pet for my kid, there." He nodded his head towards where Shelby was still looking at the leopard geckos.

"Is this her first pet?"

"Well, we took care of her class hamster for a weekend if that counts, but other than that, yeah. This is her first pet."

The young woman hunched over to look at the kid. "How old are you, sweetie?" she asked Shelby.

Shelby turned her head from the tank before fully facing the young woman, to hold up seven fingers.

"You're seven?"

She nodded her head.

"You know what kind of pet you want?"

Shelby immediately pointed at the leopard geckos.

"You want one of our geckos?"

Again, she nodded.

"That's a good choice. I like them, too," the young woman gave Shelby a warm smile.

"Uh, are they anything like snakes?" Luke felt he had to ask, feeling uneasy.

The young woman lifted just her head to look at him. "Actually, leopard geckos are very friendly and very docile creatures. They're one of the best first pets for children." She stood up to open the top of the tank and very gently picked up a yellow one with black spots all over the top of its body, closing the tank afterwards. Kneeling to Shelby's level, the store associate held the leopard gecko for her to hold. Shelby held her hands out, close enough it to move over to her hands. "Be very gentle, especially of the tail. The tail can easily come off if not handled properly. They can grow back, but it's still not good to let it happen."

Shelby of course was one of the gentlest kids he knew. Both her and Luke listened as the lady explained all she knew about leopard geckos. Shelby seemed disappointed they were nocturnal, but occasionally leopard geckos can come out during the day. In the end, though, she ended up choosing it. The store associate placed the leopard gecko, who turned out to be a female, into a temporary small transport tank and made sure they had everything needed for her. The total cost was a lot but wasn't too bad, though.

On the way home, Shelby held the tank on her lap.

"So, what's her name gonna be?" Luke asked, curious. He was mainly glad the leopard gecko wasn't going to stink up the apartment. "Have you thought of anything yet?"

"Um… I think I'm gonna call her...Gexie. Shor' for gecko," she decided, watching her new little friend.

"Hm. That's a good name. Just make sure after every time you hold Gexie, you wash your hands, especially before you eat."

Shelby looked up to assure him, "I will."

Luke pulled up to the diner around mid afternoon. When he slid out of the truck, Luke took Gexie from Shelby so she could slid out, herself, giving Gexie back. They brought in all of Gexie's things first since she needed to be kept warm.

The moment Luke opened the door, letting Shelby in first, Jess and Rory had immediately pulled apart, both sitting on the couch. The teens quickly jumped to their feet, greeting them, awkwardly.

In a serious, adorable voice, Shelby asked, "Were you two kissing?"

"Shell," Luke told her, before either could answer. "Come on, let's get Gexie all settled in."

Rory was the one to ask, "Who's Gexie?"

Shelby held Gexie's tank out to her, to show Rory. "Gexie's my new pet."

"I'm sorry, what?" Jess questioned and stared at it in disbelief. "Ain't it against the law to take home the wildlife?"

"We didn't bring it home from the campsite. We stopped by the pet store on the way home," Luke explained.

Rory was hunched over with her arms casually folded. "Aw, it's so cute."

"It's a snake with feet," Jess pointed out.

"Gexie doesn' hur' anyone like 'nakes do," Shelby was the one to explain this time.

"Why?" Jess continued to question towards Luke, clearly not happy to have another roomie to live with.

Luke had started moving their desk over. "You know Shell's been asking for a pet."

"I thought we agreed on having no pets," he questioned.

"We agreed on not having a hamster. Besides, the thing's very low maintenance, it won't stink up the place, and it'll be good for Shelby to learn how to care for something," he explained to the guy. "Plus, she's happy and that's what counts."

Jess looked over at Gexie, still looking uncomfortable. "Fine, I guess," he sighed. "How long do these things live for, anyway?"

"The lady at the pet store said they can live up to twenty years if properly cared for." Luke slid the desk over enough to move one of the end tables next to it. He then headed over to grab the table.

Jess suddenly stared at him. "Twenty years? How old is it now?"

"About two."

"Yay, I get to have Gexie for a long time," said Shelby with a big smile.

Rory asked, "Doesn't lizards eat insects?"

"Mealworms and crickets," Luke answered as he carried the table over and set it down. He then moved the twenty gallon long tank he bought, removing all of the supplies over on the desk. Luke set up the heating pad, placing it underneath one side of the tank and set to the correct temperature Gexie needed, using a thermostat so they could keep an eye on the temperature so Gexie wouldn't get too hot or wouldn't be hot enough.

Next, Luke set everything up inside the tank, letting Shelby decide where everything goes. Before he did, though, Luke laid out some paper towels along the whole bottom of the tank so it would be easier to clean. Jess and Rory watched, intrigued.

"What's the white stuff for?" Jess asked when Luke poured a tiny bit of white powder into a very small dish.

"It's calcium, leopard geckos need it in order to stay healthy," Luke explained to him what the store associate had told them. He then set the dish of calcium powder in one corner of the tank. Luke also let Shelby help pour a jug of distilled water into a dish that was twice as big as the calcium one. It was swallow enough Gexie couldn't swim in it since geckos couldn't swim.

Gexie also needed to have at least two hides, one Luke made one with moss that he sprayed with the water because leopard geckos shed their skin. He put the humidified hide on the warm side. The other hide he put on the cool side, letting Shelby direct him where it should go. They also put in a tunnel that looked like it was a real log but was just hard plastic. In a corner across from the cool hide, Luke set a decoration that looked like a pile of rocks.

Once the tank was all set and ready for Gexie to move in, Luke removed the lid and very carefully lifted her out of the transport tank, moving her over to her new home and placed the netted lid on top of the tank. They watched as Gexie slowly took in her new surroundings, eventually going inside her warm hide, staying in there, more than likely falling asleep. So, leaving the newest addition of the family to sleep in peace, Luke reminded Shelby, they needed to wash their hands before heading outside to bring in their stuff. Throughout the rest of the day, Shelby would check in on Gexie. It wasn't until around closing time, did Gexie finally emerge from her hide, giving the two some bonding time before bedtime.

* * *

 _ **Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**_


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

December rolled into town as the people of Stars Hollow started to prepare for Christmas. With Rachel not there, this year, Shelby requested to have a tree put up in the apartment. Luke tried to point out there wasn't enough room until she came back with putting a tree up in the diner.

"Lorelai got to you, didn't she?" he asked of her, remembering what the woman had told him, last year. Luke tried to fight it but as soon as Shelby brought out that face that can make him cave to her will, he agreed to actually put a Christmas tree up in the diner, this year. Unfortunately, Taylor had been in the diner at the same time and grew very excited the place would actually be decorated for a change. Luke hated the fact Taylor was happy, but seeing his little buddy also happy, made things better. So, on the next chance they got, Luke and Shelby went to pick out a tree which Shelby managed to get Jess involved, at least with the decorating. It helped when Luke quietly pointed out, "it's for Shelby." Jess just nodded.

The Monday after the camping trip, Ethan and Alan had come over to play and meet Gexie, who was snoozing at the time, only seeing a part of her back. So the kids just played instead. They were quiet for an hour but after that, the kids came charging down the stairs, shooting each other with their Nerf guns, pretending the diner was a war ground.

Luke of course yelled at them. "Hey! Hey! Does this look like a playground to you?" He turned on his own kid who knew better. "Shelby Danes, how many times have I said not to run down the stairs _and_ play around in the diner?"

Shelby looked up at her dad with a pitiful, ashamed look. "Sorry, Dad," she apologized sincerely.

"It's okay, just remember for next time. That goes for all you," Luke scanned around at all three kids, giving them a stern look to make sure they knew he meant business. "If I see you running in the diner again, I'm gonna hang you upside down. Do I make myself clear?"

The kids nodded.

"May we speak?" Alan asked, politely.

"Yes, you may," he nodded.

"You see, Mister Luke, this is why you're the scariest dad in all of the second grade," the boy reminded him.

Luke just glared at him, who just shrugged innocently. Finally, he told them, "Just...go play outside," and pointed in that direction. The kids started to run for the door, but quickly remembered what Luke had just got done telling them and walked the rest of the way. He at least helped them get their jackets down from the coat rack, making sure they were bundled up before hurrying outside. Luke followed the kids to make sure they crossed the street and made it to the park safely where the kids resumed their war game.

It wasn't snowing yet, but it was still cold out, and getting colder by the day. The boys came by more often than usual to see if Gexie was awake. Occasionally, during the day, Luke would curiously check in on her, making sure she had enough water. Unlike most pets, Gexie didn't need to be fed every day. They had gotten canned insects, especially crickets, because of the extra care that would come with it. Plus, there would be a smell with live insects and crickets made noise most of the time. It was also easier to dust her food with the calcium, in case Gexie didn't eat enough of it from her bowl.

One of the times the boys came over, Luke fed all three a snack, overhearing what the boys were asking Santa for. Shelby went along with it, saying she didn't have anything in particular she wanted. That is until Ethan said they were asking Santa for a Nintendo GameCube. That piqued her interest.

"Wha's tha'?"

"You haven't heard of the Nintendo GameCube yet?" asked Alan.

She shook her head.

"Dude, we just found out, too, some time ago," Ethan reminded his brother.

"Oh yeah," he remembered. "The GameCube has way better gra-fixs than then Nintendo 64."

"Wha' are gra-fix?" Shelby asked.

"What you see on the TV. They are awesome, Shelb." The boys then started talking all about the different games that were on the Nintendo GameCube. What really got her attention was when Ethan mentioned Luigi, Mario's brother, even had his own game where he had to save Mario for a change.

Suddenly, Shelby climbed down from her stool and hurried over to where Luke was standing at the register.

"Dad," she said.

"Yes, Shell?" he acknowledged her without looking up from his orders.

Shelby had to get his full attention, motioning for him to move closer to her. Luke kneeled to her level, looking at her instead. Placing her hands on his shoulders as if to tell him something very important, like the secret to life or something, Shelby told him, "Nintendo has a new game sys-tem."

He nodded, "Okay. What about it?" It was obvious what Shelby was about to tell him.

She shook him a little by his shoulders. "You don' under'tand, Dad. There is a new Nintendo, and Wee-gee has his own game." It actually made Luke chuckle, having never seen this side of his little buddy before. "I' no' funny, Dad."

"I know, I'm sorry, kiddo. Would you like a GameCube for Christmas?" he tried to ask as sincere as possible. This kid was just too darn cute.

"How much do I have saved?"

"The last I checked, I think around two hundred. You don't want to buy Christmas gifts again, this year?"

Shelby moaned when he reminded her. "Yeah, I do. Okay, after Christmas, I want to start saving for a GameCube," she decided with a nod.

"That's fine, but do you not remember our deal? You can either save up your own money, or you can get video games for your birthday or Christmas. Remember?"

"Oh yeah," she remembered but frowned. "But I like saving for my own games."

"Yeah, and you've done really good with that, but I Jess and me would love to get this for you, and I'm sure Jess would be willing to use his discount to help lower the cost. And you would be able to get it sooner if you wait for Christmas than save for it on your own." Mostly, Luke was thinking on how nice it was that Shelby wanted to put everyone ahead of her own even though it was for something she really wanted. But he was also thinking about how hard she had been working despite the year she's had.

Shelby agreed. "Okay, I can wait until Christmas," she nodded.

"Okay, I'll talk it over with Jess, later and we'll see what we can do."

With that settled, Shelby hurried back over to her friends.

The next chance he got, Luke pulled Jess to the side, asking if he could look into how much a GameCube cost, and asked if Jess would be willing to split the cost between them to get one for Shelby, making sure to point out he didn't have to. Jess shrugged it off with a "sure," and told him he'd get back to him.

When Lorelai heard they were both pitching in to get Shelby the new game console, she too wanted to pitch some money in.

"You don't have to," Luke told her, modestly.

"I know I don't, but I want to," she assured him. "Trust me when I say, that kid deserves something nice like that, and I will get her a game, too."

"You sure?"

"Yep," she smiled at him. Lorelai was sitting across from him at the counter. She had stopped by for a midday coffee break before getting back to the inn. "What kind of game should I get?"

Luke shrugged. "Not sure. Apparently, this thing's been out for a year. Maybe look for any _Pokemon_ games. "

"Yeah, sure. I can look for any _Pokemon_ games. If there isn't any, I'll look out for Mario, too since I know she likes him."

"I bet she'll like that. Thanks." Luke smiled at her.

"No problem. Anything for Shelby." she smiled in return before standing to her feet. When she went to pay for her coffee, Luke assured her it was on the house which she thanked him for. "Still liking the tree there," Lorelai motioned her head towards the decorated Christmas tree. She had quite the fun when Lorelai found out Shelby had talked him into decorating the diner.

The last week of school before winter break, Stars Hollow woke up to a blanket of white snow covering the ground. Luke made sure Shelby was bundled up well, before sending her off with Jess, to school. The night of the last day, Shelby had a winter performance at the school. Of course she talked Jess into coming. In the upcoming weeks, Shelby practiced in front of him and Luke, as well as Lorelai and Rory when she spent a Saturday at their house, and also at the end of the town meetings.

This time, Luke had Shelby dress nice for it, having her wear her red collared shirt with a pair of jeans. Over her hat, she wore reindeer antlers made from brown construction paper, stapled together. Shelby still held her hands behind her back, but at least she didn't need to turn her hat around to shield her eyes from the crowd. Not only did she want Jess and Luke there, Lorelai and Rory came to see her performance as well. Her class sang several Christmas carols, starting with _Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer_.

Rebecca and her family also came, along with her mother. She had called beforehand, asking if both of her parents could come see Shelby's performance. Luke said no to her father, not wanting a repeat of last time. Not if Lloyd couldn't behave. Edna was invited, though, bringing her camera once again to film it.

During the performance, Shelby kept looking towards the stage in front of her. Her mouth was moving so she was softly singing along with the other kids. After the show, Shelby hurried over to meet everyone who was waiting to congratulate her.

This time, Rebecca brought her some flowers. Shelby didn't seem all that impressed but did say thank you with a thumb's up. She then suggested going out to eat. Lorelai, Rory, and the rest of their friends who came, headed for home. Luke told Jess he could head home if he wanted to so only he and Shelby went with them. During dinner was when Rebecca and her family gave Shelby her first Christmas presents.

They decided to give them to her while they were waiting for their food to arrive. The first present was a thin wrapped box of clothes. There was a couple nice turtle-neck, long sleeved shirts with a couple pairs of nice pants to match. Shelby frowned at them but gave them a thumb's up anyway. Thankfully, they included a few _Pokemon_ and _Harry Potter_ t-shirts, as well as another basketball jersey for her favorite team. They also included, which Mike pointed out was his idea, a Patriots' football jersey. There were also some new pairs of jeans. The second present Shelby opened was a shoebox. Inside was a brand new pair of Jordans her size.

The third and final present of theirs was in a large Christmas bag with a cartoon snowman on each side. Several small gifts were inside, wrapped in tissue paper. Shelby pulled one out and ripped off the tissue paper to find an action figure of Harry Potter from the second movie. Another was a copy of the movie, _Space Jam_ , a cartoon/live action kids' basketball movie about Michael Jordan and the _Looney Tunes_.

One of Rebecca and Rachel's brothers, Rob, who was the only one by this point, without kids, had come along as well. And because he didn't have any kids of his own, nor was he married or seeing someone, He was the uncle who spoiled the nieces and nephews. The present was a long rectangular shape wrapped in red Santa wrapping paper. Shelby started on one of the ends and ripped a piece right along the top to reveal the Razor scooter logo. Intrigued, she ripped off some more until they could see it was a brand new Razor push scooter. Parts of the scooter was green along with the grey metal color.

Her mouth and eyes widened in awe to see the scooter sitting right in front of her and immediately gave her uncle a big thumb's up.

Rob chuckled. "You're welcome, Shelby. Got your cousin, Katie one too."

Luke looked at the boxed scooter. The thing looked like a thin skateboard with handlebars. Not something he remembered from his childhood that's for sure.

Tapping interrupted his thoughts. Luke looked down at Shelby, acknowledging her. "Can I ride this when we ge' home?" she whispered in his ear.

"Tomorrow, okay? It'll be too late and too cold to play outside."

Shelby looked bummed, but agreed anyway.

Lastly, Edna gave Shelby her last present from their side of the family, passing down a gift bag with Santa's sleigh on both sides. Her grandmother also gave Shelby some clothes. None of them were really girly, nor was it a dress or skirt, but it was still intended for girls. Thankfully, Edna also included some more _Pokemon_ and sports t-shirts, with a few more jeans to go with them. Included in the bag was a _Precious Moments_ coloring book with a box of 64 crayons. As she was pulling everything out, Luke had been refolding everything to place nicely back into the bag, afterwards. Once Edna's was all looked at, Shelby gave her grandmother a thumb's up. Shortly after Shelby was finished opening her gifts, their food arrived. Luke, with Rob's help, moved everything to the floor underneath the table.

Shelby's winter show for school ended up not being her only performance. On Christmas eve, the church had its Christmas eve service where the kids were involved in a retelling of the Christmas story. Shelby wasn't actually in the pageant. She was part of the choir that sang while the other kids acted it out.

Of course, Luke had to go since it was his kid in the show. It had been the first time sitting inside the church aside from weddings and funerals. The kids who were singing in the choir were all given plastic candles on the count of what happened a few years ago, the last time they used real candles. Thankfully, the fire never was able to grow larger than a small fire that several of the guys were able to stomp out.

It was also Jess' first time, who also got talked into coming. Rory told him she thought it was so sweet he was supporting his little cousin in stuff like that as Jess tried to hold a tough front. Lorelai pointed out it felt like she was watching a _Peanuts_ Christmas special and couldn't help call out, asking where the sad little tree was. It wasn't to be mean or anything as she admitted after the pageant that it was cute.

The next morning, as she did the year before, Shelby did a Superman leap right on top of her dad, instantly waking him as Luke nearly lost the air out of him.

"Shelby," he groaned. "What have I said about jumping on top of me?" Luke turned on his side, moaning in pain.

"Sorry, Dad," she apologized sincerely. "I'm jus' so exci'ed."

Luke looked up at his little buddy. If anyone could stay mad at this kid, they had a heart made of stone. His was basically putty in her hands. "Merry Christmas, kiddo," he told her.

It made Shelby smile. "Merry Chris'mas, Dad."

Luke sat up, nudging the kid off of him. Shelby wanted to do a Superman leap right on her cousin, too, but Luke told her not to. If she was going to wake him up, doing it in a way that a slew of cuss words wouldn't be involved was probably a good idea, knowing not to hold his nephew accountability for any words said while being awakened forcibly.

So, Shelby made her way back to her side of the apartment, climbing on Jess' bunk, crawling around his feet. "Jess. Jess. Wake up, Jess. I's Chris'mas."

Luke could hear Jess moan, no doubt turning over onto his other side. He called over for Shelby to let her cousin sleep if he wants to and to come help him fix breakfast. Just as they done the year before, Luke and Shelby made cinnamon french toast and scrambled eggs. Just as it worked last Christmas, it worked again. Once the apartment was filled with the aroma of french toast and eggs, Jess finally emerged.

Without letting Jess catch him, Luke gave Shelby a quick wink as Shelby smirked up at him.

Before doing their own gift exchange, Shelby made sure to drop in a couple crickets for Gexie, and let the critter have the first present. Of course, she ripped off the paper for her, having bought a new hide for her new friend with her own money. It was a tree stump made to look like a house with an opening for the door and a window to the right of the door. Asking her dad for help putting the hide in there, Shelby told him where to place it. They waited to see if Gexie would go in there. Since it was still dark outside, Gexie was still awake. However, she didn't seem interested just yet. Luke assured Shelby to leave Gexie alone for now and let her check her Christmas present out at her leisure, then explained what leisure meant. Luke, Shelby, and Jess headed downstairs where the presents for the humans were.

Shelby tried to jump up and switch on the light once they got outside, but missed. Luke came up behind her, lifting the kid up so Shelby could reach, then set her back down.

They put down the chairs at the table closest to the tree that Luke plugged in before passing out the gifts, setting them on the table. He let Jess and Shelby open theirs which Shelby went first. He told her to open the perfectly cubed shaped present, pushing it closer to her.

"Lorelai and Rory helped pitch in to get it for ya," he told her before Shelby started to tear into the cartoon reindeer wrapping paper. Only one side was open when a non human noise erupted from the kid's mouth as she screamed in excitement.

Both guys were caught off guard to hear such a loud noise come out of Shelby.

Jess held a hand to his ear, flinching. "Dude, you knew you were getting it," he pointed out in an annoyed tone. "Why scream for?"

"I don' know. I'm jus' so happy." She climbed down from her chair to run around the corner of the table, hugging and thanking her dad first, then ran around to hug and thank her cousin before running back around to her seat to finish tearing off the wrapping paper. It was even a silver GameCube console that was supposed to be for a limited time.

Jess opened one next, unwrapping another book from Luke, which Luke asked for an exact book he would want. Luke had told Jess he didn't have to get him anything but Jess did anyway, stating there was a sale on ladles.

Luke couldn't help smirk at his nephew.

"What?" he questioned.

"Nothing." But Luke kept right on smirking.

"Look, we were doing the gift exchange anyway. It was on sale. I knew you would get me something so I thought I would reciprocate. It's not a big deal," Jess shrugged it off, playing it cool. "Alright?"

"Alright," Luke told him. Though, he knew there was some care. Even if it was just to reciprocate, Jess technically didn't have to get him anything. He could have just taken the gift and left it at that aside from a simple thank you. But he didn't.

Shelby took another turn. This time, she opened what was a game for the GameCube, the game with Luigi being in the spotlight for once and having to be the one to save his brother instead of the other way around. One of the huge differences between her other console to this one was instead of a cartridge, the game was a disc that was smaller than a regular music CD and came in a case like a DVD.

"Cool," she said, looking at the back of the case, very happy.

"That's from me, kiddo," Luke told her.

"Thank you, Dad," Shelby told him, looking up from the game case.

"You're welcome, kiddo."

The spotlight was switched back to Jess, who opened Shelby's next. This time, she got him a new watch.

"Nice. Thanks, Scout," he told her.

"You're welcome, Jess. I though' you would like i' and I didn' know wha' else to ge' you," she shrugged, and added, "besides more books, and I wanted to ge' you something special to go with your walle' from las' year."

"Well, I appreciate it." Jess reached over and playfully punched her in the arm.

Luke also opened Shelby's gift, ripping into the wrapping paper. He could tell the kid wrapped it herself as it was wrapped up with a lot of tape and more wrapping paper than needed.

"I asked Lor-lai to help me ge' i', but I paid for it," she pointed out as Luke had to really yank on it until finally he was able to rip the present open. It was safe to assume Rachel had helped her last year. He wished Lorelai or Jess even could have helped her this time. She tried though and it's the thought that counts.

Inside all of the wrapping paper and tape was a swiss army knife with many other tools attached as well.

"I's for when we go camping," she explained. "So you can have wha' you need on you."

Luke smiled at the tool. "Thanks, kiddo. This is awesome." He could see it made her happy to see they liked their gifts she got them. Now, only Shelby and Jess had one more, each. Shelby opened her last one that was from Jess. His was also a game called _NBA Courtside 2002_ , a basketball game. Jess also got a music CD from his uncle, also a recommendation from him.

With all the presents unwrapped, all of the wrapping paper was thrown away. Before she could go play her new game, Luke had Shelby help prepare the diner for the day. In exchange, he helped unplug her Nintendo 64 and hooked the Nintendo GameCube to the TV. There was an unfortunate discovery when Shelby booted up Luigi's game and the screen said there wasn't a memory card plugged in.

Luke stared at it. "What the hell is a memory car?"

Shelby shrugged. "I don' know," she replied not knowing that Luke was actually talking to himself out loud.

"Can you still play the game?" he asked her, this time.

Shelby tried it, choosing a game file on the main menu screen. Luke had to jump in really quick to stop her from going too fast so he can read anything that the game tells them. The game did inform them that it could be played, but progress won't be saved.

"Well, at least you can play it," he shrugged, looking on the positive side. "Sometime in the next few days we'll look into getting a memory card, whatever that is." Truthfully, that was crawling under his skin. Luke held a potential rant in since it would just confuse his kid. But of course if companies wanted to make good money off of something, they have to make added equipment to sell separately that would be needed to fully enjoy the game. Besides, Lorelai usually ends up the one getting his rants anyway which was exactly what happened.

Lorelai and Rory ended up coming early for breakfast. Usually, they come during the early afternoon on Christmas. It was a surprise when they got there. Jess poured their coffee for them, kissing Rory in the process. Luke told them he'd go let Shelby know they were there, but not before finally letting out his rant that has been building up inside of him, going on and on about it until finally, Lorelai stopped him and told Luke to go get Shelby. Apologizing awkwardly, Luke did just that.

Shelby hurried downstairs and dashed right over to the girls, happy to see them, wishing Lorelai and Rory a Merry Christmas. She then hurried over to fetch their presents, passing them both out.

Rory opened hers first. Shelby's present to Rory was a bracelet. It wasn't anything fancy or real. It had fake, plastic stones on it. It also came in a clear, plastic wrapping.

"I saw you weren' wearing your brace-a-le' anymore so I though' you los' i' and go' you a new one. Do you like i'?"

"I love it. Thanks, Shelby." Rory wrapped an arm around the little girl to hug her.

"You're welcome," she replied, smiling, happy Rory liked the present.

Lorelai went next, ripping off the wrapping paper. Shelby knew the woman all too well. She laughed. "I love it, sweetheart." It was a tall coffee mug that had a cartoon dog standing on its hind legs while wearing a nightshirt and matching cap, holding a coffee mug with steam coming out on one side and said in colorful lettering on the other side, _I NEED COFFEE TO FUNCTION…_ It also had a small bag of coffee beans inside the mug. "Thank you so much." Lorelai also wrapped an arm around the little girl.

"I though' of you when I saw i'," Shelby nodded very confidently.

"Well, I appreciate it." Lorelai chuckled as she smiled at the little girl. She then picked up a Christmas gift bag off the floor, on the other side of her chair. "This is for you."

Shelby took it, looking inside at the tissue paper sticking out. She looked back up at Lorelai with a puzzled expression. "Bu' Dad said you helped paid for my GameCube. Isn' tha' from you?"

"Yes, but I wanted to get you something else to go with it," she nodded. "Because you're awesome."

"Oh. Thank you." Shelby pulled out the tissue paper and causally tossed it over her shoulder. Rory's quick reflexes caught it just in time. She then pulled out yet another game, plus a small, thin, grey squared cartridge, factory sealed in a plastic case.

"The guy at the store says that's needed in order to save your game," she explained, pointing at the cartridge. "I figured neither your dad or cousin probably would know about it, so I got one just in case." When Shelby heard it was a memory card that they were needing earlier, she instantly jumped on the woman, ambushing her.

"Thank you," she told her, squeezing onto Lorelai, very tight. So it looks like Lorelai ended up saving the day on that one.

"Yeah, we realized that this morning when I hooked it up and it said the game couldn't be saved," Luke spoke up at that point.

Shelby stepped back, wearing a big smile on her face.

That's when Rory handed her, her present. "I know it's not a game, but I got you something just as good, if not better," she said.

"What?"

"Open it and find out."

Shelby set the game and memory card on the table so she could open Rory's present. Inside the wrapping was a book.

"I got you the gift of reading, the best gift in my opinion and a Christmas classic," she explained.

That piqued Jess' interest, bringing the guy over with curiosity. "And what's that?" he asked.

"Charles Dickens' _A Christmas Carol_."

Jess nodded in agreement. "That is a good one."

"Can you read i' to me, Jess?" Shelby asked.

"Why can't you read it? You've gotten better at reading," he pointed out.

"Yeah, bu' I like i' when you read to me. You know all of the big words."

"Well, I think you should read this one for yourself," Jess told her in assurance.

Staring right at him with a serious look, she told him, "I'll make you read _Captain Underpan's_ again."

Jess scoffed, smirking over at his cousin. "Yeah right, You can't blackmail me, Scout. So don't even try." Her expression then turned to a puppy dog one. Luke noticed it made the guy start to squirm. "That's not going to work," he tried to hold on, strong. But Shelby wasn't giving in until Jess agreed. "Okay, fine. I'll read it tonight. Are you happy now?"

Shelby grinned a tooth grin. She nodded at him.

Jess walked away in defeat, muttering out loud, "Brat."

"Love you, big brother!" she called after him. Luke couldn't help catch a shade of red appearing in his nephew's face, who was trying to hide it. When he turned back, Luke noticed Rory could see it too, smiling over at the guy.

While Shelby visited with the Gilmores while they ate their late breakfast, the twins also stopped by on their way to Ron's boss' house. Ron had stopped by the diner a couple weeks ago for coffee and to ask Luke beforehand so he knew the reason for the visit.

Shelby leaped off her seat to meet her friends, halfway. "Guess wha' I go' for Chris'mas!" she told them, excited.

Ethan seemed a little upset. "Guess what we didn't get for Christmas." At the same time, both kids exclaimed, "A GameCube!" That didn't seem to sit well with the boy. "You got a GameCube?"

She nodded. "Yeah, and three games for i', too." Shelby held up three fingers.

Ethan pretty much lost it. "That's not fair! You didn't even know 'bout it till we told you!"

"My dad, and Jess, and our friends go' i' for me." The smile she once wore had now turned into a frown.

Ethan repeated his protest. " _That's not fair_!" Folding his arms tightly across his chest, he added. "Don't talk to me ever again, Shelby." With that said, the boy turned and stormed away. Luke watched him walk over to one of the empty tables and slumped down in the chair to pout. When Luke looked back, he saw Shelby looked close to tears.

"It's okay, Shelby," Alan spoke up at that point. "I'm not mad." He shook his head.

"You and Ethan can come over and play i' with me," she pointed out, sincerely. "If Ethan really wan's i', he can have i', though."

Even though he was sad to see his little buddy sad, Luke couldn't help smile at her generosity.

"Really, Shelby?" Alan asked.

She nodded. "If i' means tha' much to him."

Alan was about to call over to his brother when Cheryl stepped in.

"That's very nice of you, Shelby. But it's alright. The boys have a Nintendo already."

"Not a GameCube," Ethan pointed out from across the room.

"Ethan James, that's enough," Ron scolded. "We have to be at Mr. Richard's house in an hour. Come over here so we can tell you your last Christmas present from your mom and I."

Ethan aggressively turned away, to face towards the kitchen. "Shelby is spoiled. She gets everything, and always gets a new game."

Ron held his hands on his sides, staring over at his son. "Spoiled, huh? Other kids can say the same about you at what I'm about to tell you. Now get your butt over here or we're gonna be chatting in the car when we get to Mr. Richard's house." With the threat made, Ethan slowly slid off the chair and made his way over. He didn't unfold his arms or change the pouting face, though.

With all three kids standing before them, Ron began, directing towards his boys first. "You know how we go to Grandma and Grandpa's during the summer?"

"Yeah," Alan was the one to answer.

"Well, this year, your mom and I talked it over with your grandparents about us taking a trip to see Disney World while we're there, this coming summer." Alan immediately cheered while Shelby looked puzzled again. Ron turned to her, "and you get to come with us, Shelby."

Alan cheered some more. "Yay, Shelby can come too. You're gonna like our Grandma and Grandpa's house. Our Grandpa has paintball guns and he lets us shoot at targets."

"Bu' wha's Disney World?" she asked, still confused.

"It's stupid, is what it is," Ethan spat and turned back to his dad. "I wanted a GameCube, not Disney World!"

"Ethan James, that is enough. Just because you can't have what you want does not mean you act like this," Cheryl scolded him.

Ethan just pouted towards the floor.

"I'm happy, Mom," Alan assured their mom, "especially because Shelby gets to come." He turned back to her to explain what Disney World was. "Disney World's this big amusement park where you can ride all these rides, and meet Mickey and all his friends."

"Mickey is a cartoon," Shelby pointed out.

"I know. It's just a guy in a costume, but it's still awesome to get your picture taken with him." It didn't seem fun to Luke, but he figured it would to a kid. However, Shelby didn't seem all that happy. She kept looking over at where Ethan was still pouting, sad one of her best friends was unhappy.

"We thought you'd like to come, Shelby," Ron told her. "How about it? We're going to the beach, too, and a couple other places. My parents' house is like a fun summer camp with lots of fun things to do around on their large acre land."

"Can my dad come?" she asked.

Ron stole a quick glance with Luke. "Well, there wouldn't be much room for your dad and we don't have an extra ticket for both a plane and Disney World for your dad."

"You'd be spending part of the summer with our family if that's okay with you," said Cheryl. "Since you spend so much time with us anyway, it's already like you're part of the family."

"Go, Shelby," Lorelai ured her. "You can bring us back a set of Mickey Mouse ears, and some shells from the beach."

"You don't have to decide right away," Ron assured the little girl. "You have plenty of time. It's not until June and we'll be gone through the whole month. Just think about it and let us know when you're ready. Okay?"

Shelby nodded up at the boys' dad. She then hurried over to the Christmas tree, grabbing four Christmas presents. Shelby brought them back, offering them to her friends, and their parents and brother. Ethan refused to take his, turning away.

"Ethan," his dad said in a warning tone.

"I don't want it. I'm never speaking to her again." Ethan turned on his heel, turning his back on one of his best friends. Ron calmly told him to get out to the van, leaving his mother and brothers. Derek and Alan opened theirs. Alan's was a Lego figure of a _Pokémon_ while Derek's was a _Star Wars_ bobble head of Darth Vader. The boys thanks her before Cheryl opened the one for both her and her husband. Theirs was a candle that smells like a field of flowers. They always had candles in their home so Shelby wanted to add to their collection. Cheryl gave her a hug as she thanked the little girl.

"Don't worry about Ethan, sweetie. He's really not mad at you. He's just upset about not getting what he wanted."

"Yeah, Shelby. We're still friends. Ethan tells me that too, sometimes and we make up." Alan held an arm around Shelby. Shelby did the same but she still looked close to tears. Her friend and his family thanked both Luke and Shelby and told them good-bye as they turned to leave, needing to get to their Christmas dinner. Cheryl took Ethan's present, assuring Shelby she would make sure Ethan tell her thank you, before they left. Once they were gone, Luke caught a glint of a tear escape. Lorelai must have caught it too because she called her over.

Shelby went over to Lorelai, who let her sit on her lap, wrapping her arms around the kid. Lorelai reassured what Cheryl had said as she rubbed Shelby's arm, up and down.

"Lane and I have fights with each other, sometimes, and we always make up later. It's normal," Rory also told her.

Shelby looked over at the older girl with just her eyes. "We never had a figh' before. No' like tha'," she sniffed, holding her head against Lorelai's chest. "We only figh' abou' who's turn i' is when we play video games."

"Yeah?" Lorelai smiled while she continued to rub her arm.

"Yeah. Bu' he never said no' t-to t-talk t-to him any...m-more." Her voice was breaking now.

"I'm sorry, hun," Lorelai told her, apologetically. "Sookie and I have had fights where we don't talk to each other for a while, too."

"I don' wan' a Game...C-Cube anymore. No' if i-i' makes Ethan sad."

Luke came around where Rory was sitting, kneeling to his little buddy's level. "Listen, kiddo. It's okay to have something you worked hard for. That's why I wanted to get it for you," he told her.

Shelby rubbed at her right eye. "I worked for it?" she asked, confused.

He nodded. "Yeah. You're working hard in school, you're doing great with your speech sounds. You do such a great job helping out in here, and I don't have to remind you to do your chores." That was mostly referring to Jess, slacking in his chores sometimes. "You earned to have something you really want. Plus, you buy most of your games and toys yourself with your own money. Don't feel bad about getting things you worked hard to have."

"Bu' I don' like seeing Ethan sad."

"We know you don't, hun, but you can't control how others feel," Lorelai told her. "You can only control how you feel. If Ethan chooses to be upset than being happy for a friend, that's his decision. Yes, you have something he was hoping he'd get too and that's hard to see something someone else has that you really want."

"Remember how Ethan and Alan only had a Nintendo 64 and you had to go over to their house if you wanted to play it until you got your own?" Rory pointed out.

Shelby nodded, looking over at Rory with just her eyes.

"Well, now it'll be the other way around," she shrugged. "Now, if they want to play the GameCube, now they'll have to come over to your house to play it. So now you're swapped."

"See?" asked Lorelai. "Everything will be okay between the two of you. If Ethan is really your friend, you'll be able to work through this and I bet become even closer pals." She chuckled as she gave Shelby a reassuring smile.

Shelby dropped her gaze to stare at nothing in particular. Eventually, she lifted her head to wipe her eyes dry.

"Feel better now?"

She shrugged.

"I know it's hard but I do promise it'll work out the way it should," Lorelai assured her. "Now, why don't you go boot up your game and show Rory and me this new game thing you got." She nudged Shelby off her lap. When she did, Luke offered his little buddy a comforting hug which Shelby accepted, grabbing onto his neck.

"Love you, kiddo," he told her.

"Love you too, Dad," she replied from his shoulder. Shelby let go to lead Lorelai and Rory upstairs.

Shelby played her new GameCube until the food was done. Luke prepared ham and the rest of Christmas dinner, similar to what he did for Thanksgiving; friends stopped by along with customers passing through. Lorelai and Rory joined them of course. Shelby started dinner by saying grace, making sure to include Ethan, asking that he would still be her best friend. After dinner, there was pie and cookies for dessert. Shelby had a slice of apple pie with two of the gingerbread cookies Luke had let her decorate the other day.

The diner closed early that evening and was cleaned up before Luke and Shelby headed upstairs to watch _A Charlie Brown Christmas_ and the original _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_. Once Shelby got ready for bed, she gave Gexie her last cricket before climbing onto Jess' bunk with her copy of _A Christmas Carol_ , reminding him of his promise, to close out their second Christmas together as a family.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I hope everyone had a great Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate! :) This took longer than I'd hoped but we are now officially halfway through season three! As a friendly reminder, this story does follow the series up until April comes in as she and Anna does not exist in this story. Shelby basically replaced April. Also, since it has been a while, if you are also reading my other story, "Healing Love", I will be starting 2018 off with a few updates since it's been a month since I last updated it. So expect that soon! Can't believe it's been a year since I started "A Father's Love"! Thanks again for reading! :)**


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Christmas came and went just as fast and the new year was upon them which Shelby spent New Year's eve at Lorelai and Rory's house this time. Ethan did end up apologizing for the way he treated his best friend. Shelby grabbed onto the boy, squeezing him tight.

"I's okay, Ethan. I forgive you," she assured him and let go.

"Thanks, Shelb," he told her. "But you do get spoiled rotton, you know that?"

Shelby shrugged. "I already have a job so I ge' to earn money and buy wha'ever I wan'."

"But then you get a GameCube and a cool scooter for Christmas," he pointed out.

"My dad, and Jess, and friends all put their money together, and Jess ge's a discoun'."

Alan asked, "What's that?"

"I's where he ge's fi'teen percen' off anything at Wal-mar' in'tead of the whole price," she explained. "And my uncle has no kids of his own so he spoils me and my other cousins."

"Still don't seem fair to me," Ethan said, bitterly.

"I share all my toys with you," she pointed out.

"I know." Ethan shoved his hands into his sweatshirt pocket. "I just wish I could get cool stuff I want too, you know?"

Shelby nodded.

It was Alan who said, "Come on, Ethan. Don't you think Shelby deserves it? We have both our mom and dad since we were born. Shelby had to live in a bunch of strangers' homes and didn't meet her dad until she was five and got a mom who got's issues." Shelby fell quiet at that point, dropping her gaze to the floor.

"Alan," their mother gently scolded.

"I'm just saying," he shrugged innocently. "Shelby deserves to be spoiled. Right, Shelb?" Alan turned back to Shelby, who was still staring at the floor. Catching on, he too had to apologize, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

So, because Shelby had the cool, new toys, the twins came around a lot more than they did before, spending almost every day and weekend. They also finally got to see Gexie awake. Jess wasn't too thrilled about it. Thankfully, he had work and Rory, so he didn't have to be around that often when the place was "crawling" with little kids and made sure to threaten them not to touch any of his stuff or bother him.

"There's nothing you can do that our brother hasn't done," Ethan boldly proclaimed while holding his Nerf gun he had aimed at Jess.

"You really wanna take that risk, shorty?" Luke rolled his eyes as Jess gave the kid a hard, warning glare, who tried to remain tough.

In the end, Ethan quickly shook his head.

"Wow, Shelb. Is everyone in your family, scary?" Alan had asked, afterwards.

"Jess is a'ually very nice, he jus' doesn' like to show i'," she informed her friends which made Luke chuckle under his breath without the kids knowing he was listening.

When they weren't playing the GameCube, the kids were taking turns on Shelby's scooter that Shelby had also been out, riding pretty much every day, as well. If she ever went anywhere, she would take her scooter along. Shelby even asked her dad to run errands for him just so she could have a reason to ride it more, and would even ride it to both the Crap Shack and the inn, on multiple occasions. She was surely enjoying her Christmas gifts, but wasn't letting the fact she was technically spoiled go to her head. Shelby was too humble for that.

School resumed for the second half of the school year. It also meant there was four more months of second grade and then she would have another new teacher. Mr. Harris was still Shelby's favorite teacher she has had so far. He helped each student reach his or her potential and would work with them, one on one whenever they needed help. He was also the first teacher Shelby was able to start opening up to and hear her talk, even if it was quiet. Jess had even tried to tease his cousin as if she had a crush on the guy, but Shelby told him that was gross, that he was an old man.

"You do realize Mr. Harris is in his thirties like me, right?" Luke pointed out. They were in the middle of dinner.

"Yeah, you're old too," she said.

Jess choked out a laugh, ducking his head away while he held his drink to his lips.

Luke was not one bit amused, shooting his nephew a glare. "Okay. Well, Lorelai is also in her thirties. So is she old, too?"

She nodded. "Yep. When you're thirdy or older you are old."

"Didn't you like Kirk, though?" Jess pointed out.

"He isn' thirdy ye'." Shelby had a look to show she wasn't sure on that one. "Is he?" She switched back to her dad for confirmation.

"I went to school with Kirk. So, yeah, he is, kiddo."

"Oh." Shelby fell silent for a moment before she added, "Kirk doesn' look old," shaking her head.

"Oh, but me, Lorelai, and Mr. Harris do?" Luke chuckled to show he was picking on her in a harmless way.

Shelby thought about it, looking up towards the ceiling. "Okay, fine. You don' look tha' old either," she decided, shaking her head this time.

Luke just laughed as he continued eating. "Thought I would have to tell Lorelai on you, and you know how she gets when it comes to stuff like that." Instead of scaring her, Shelby just giggled in return, knowing Lorelai wouldn't actually do anything to her. Except maybe tickle her.

Jess changed the subject. "Hey, Scout."

Shelby turned back to her cousin. "Yeah?"

"I have Thursday night off and Rory's meeting Lane at that carnival thing. How about me and you do something and hang out until she's done. Up for it?"

"Sure," she replied, excitedly. "Wha' are we gonna do?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we'll go to our spot and practice more of your sounds or study your spelling words for the week. How about that?"

"Okay. I have a tes' on Friday, anyway."

"You don't want to go to the carnival with Lorelai and Rory?" Luke asked Shelby in surprise. It was rare when the kid turned down anything that involved spending time with the Gilmore girls.

"The carnival ge's boring too fas' and there's no' much to do," she briefly shrugged.

Luke nodded in understanding. It was apparent Shelby was spending way too much time with her dad and cousin.

Thursday evening, Shelby tagged along with Jess, who was going to pick up Rory to walk her to the carnival before the cousins headed off for their spot. Shelby of course brought her scooter, along with her backpack. Luke reminded Shelby to wear her helmet and to watch for cars, and told Jess to make sure she wore her helmet and watch for cars. However, despite neither cousin having any interest in the high school's winter carnival, they still ended up going.

"I' was Jess' idea," Shelby told her dad when they returned, later that evening.

Luke's eyebrows rose when he heard Jess willingly went to the carnival.

"Dean and his sister wen' with us. I bea' both of them a' ice bowling and bea' Jess at the one where you throw a ball at milk bo'toes. He kep' missing. I didn' know anything can be funny and sad a' the same time."

Jess looked annoyed by the statement. "I wouldn't have if I didn't have the feeling of having Stuart Little shoved in my ear," he pointed out in annoyance.

"Yeah, suuurrre." Shelby smirked up at the guy. "I' was Clara's faul' you couldn' hi' them."

"You know, you I can deal with, so you might want to watch it, Scout," he warned, but in a joking manner.

At that, Shelby just stuck her tongue out at her cousin as if to egg him on. That caused Jess to suddenly chase after her, rushing up the stairs. A few minutes later, Luke heard squeals of laughter as no doubt Jess was now reenacting WWE on the kid.

Early the next morning, two hours before Luke's usual wake-up. The sound of somebody hurling up the contents of their stomachs, followed closely by a loud freak-out by Jess alerted him from a sound sleep. Shooting out of bed like a rocket, Luke dashed across the room, barely stopping to turn on the light, almost tripping over himself in the process.

Now on the cousins' side of the room, Luke saw there was a puddle of vomit on the floor beside their beds and a freaked out Jess pinned against the wall. The side of his own bed also had vomit leaking down the side of the comforter, mattress, and bed frame. Shelby was halfway leaning over the edge of the railing, looking pale in the face.

Carefully stepping around the puddle, Luke made his way over to check on his buddy. "Hey, kiddo. What happened?" he asked, gently, pushing some hair out of her face. That's when he felt how warm she was.

"She blew chunks all over the floor, is what happened," Jess replied for her, a little disgusted.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked out, pitifully.

"It's alright, kiddo. Come on," Luke gently nudged Shelby to sit up and helped her over to the ladder so he could lift her into his arms, carrying Shelby to the bathroom. She was barely able to lift her head, much less walk on her own. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite make it to the bathroom before round two and threw up all over her dad.

"Aw jeez!" Luke suddenly rushed her the rest of the way. He set Shelby on her feet, and kneeled to her level as he lifted the toilet seat. While Shelby was hovered over the toilet, Luke rubbed her back in soothing circles. Heat was coming off from her which he took that time to properly feel her forehead. "Shell, you're burning up." Standing to his feet, Luke opened the medicine cabinet to grab the ear thermometer, using it to take her temperature. The screen showed her temperature was 103.

Jess wandered over. Now that the shock had worn off, he was rubbing at his eye, tiredly. "How is she?"

"She has a fever of a 103," Luke told him.

"Must be the flu. Funny though that this is the first time she's been sick as long as I've known her."

"I know. This is a first for me, too," he agreed as Luke continued rubbing Shelby's back, who was now laying her head and arms on the bowl. Jess even commented that she looked like she was hungover. Luke remembered Rachel saying something about rarely being sick but when she did, all hell breaks loose, while they were dating. Naturally, Shelby would be the same way.

"By the way, you got something on you. About right there." Jess pointed out the mess all over Luke's shirt.

"Yeah, I know." Luke told him, annoyed, knowing Jess was probably having fun with the fact the guy was covered in 'kid puke.' Letting Shelby know he was going to get a change of clothes for the both of them, Luke headed for his closet to change first. When he returned with another pair of pajamas for Shelby, Luke saw Jess had taken his place, turning his head when round three came up, grossed out. That's when he noticed his uncle had returned and stood up to let Luke have his spot back. Luke thanked him as he kneeled back down.

"Whatever," Jess just shrugged if off like it wasn't a big deal, of course.

Once Shelby seemed okay, Luke helped clean her off and change her pajamas. So she wouldn't have to climb back up the ladder, Luke made a bed for her on the couch and let her sleep there. When that was all taken care of and Jess' sheets were changed as well, the guys tried to get some more sleep. Thankfully, with a glass of ginger ale, Shelby was able to sleep. But when his alarm went off, another round hit. Luke had set a trash can beside where Shelby could lean over and managed to get most of it inside. By this point, she was whimpering and kept kicking the blanket away but reaching for it to pull the blanket back over her only to kick it off again. It was hard to see his little buddy huddled in a ball, whimpering like a tiny puppy.

Luke made some plain oatmeal and helped Shelby over to the table to eat. She took a few bites here and there while briefly lifting her head before dropping it right back down on her folded arms.

"I' hur's," she complained with tears in her eyes.

"What hurts, kiddo?" he asked her, gently.

"Everything."

"I'm gonna run to the pharmacy once Caesar gets here," he assured her. "I'll get some medicine to help ya, and some juice and more ginger ale." Luke pulled a chair up next to hers. He was going to rub her back some more until Shelby slowly slid off her chair to climb onto his leg, snuggling against him. Luke wrapped his arms around his little buddy, holding her so he could rub soothing motions on her arms and side where they ached.

"Feel better, Scout," Jess told her on his way out for school.

Shelby glanced up at him out of the corner of her eye. "Bye, Jess."

He gave her an encouraging smile before leaving.

Once Caesar got there, Luke laid Shelby back on the couch and asked if Caesar could open the diner and keep an eye on Shelby while he ran to the pharmacy and to Doose's. He gave him one of Shelby's walkie-talkies so she could get a hold of him if she needed anything.

"I can make some sopa that my nana used to make for me as a kid," Caesar offered. "It always helped whenever I got sick."

"You don't have to," Luke assured him.

He shrugged. "It's not a problem."

"You sure?"

Caesar nodded. "Mm hm."

Thanking him, Luke told both of them he will be back as soon as he could. Caesar asked him to pick up a few things, as well.

Luke went to the pharmacy first, picking up a bottle of children's flu and cold medicine, stopping at Doose's on the way back to grab some apple juice instead of orange in case Shelby's throat started hurting. He also got some more ginger ale to help settle her stomach as well as the stuff Caesar asked for.

"Everything go okay?" Luke asked, setting the paper bag with Caesar's stuff on the counter just inside the diner's kitchen.

"Yeah. Lorelai took over when her and Rory stopped by," he replied.

"Okay. Thanks, Caesar." Luke headed upstairs, taking the rest of the stuff with him. He shifted the bag to hold it on his knee so he could open the door, nudging it the rest of the way with his foot, also shutting it with his foot.

Lorelai was indeed up there, sitting on the couch. Shelby's head was on her leg like a pillow as she watched cartoons. "Hey."

"Uh, hey," he returned the greeting, awkwardly. Luke set the bag on the kitchen table and began taking everything out before folding the bag in half. He had already informed Shelby he wouldn't be getting orange juice. She was disappointed, but said if she had to drink some other kind of juice, it would be apple.

Luke dropped the folded bag into the trash can under the kitchen sink and got a cup from one of the upper cupboards, grabbing ice from the freezer since the juice wasn't cold.

"Do you remember Bugs Bunny and the rest of the _Looney Tunes_?" Lorelai asked while watching the cartoon Shelby was watching.

"Vaguely. Why?" he asked, picking out a few ice cubes from their tray and dropping them into the cup.

"Apparently, they are babies now?"

Luke looked over at the TV while he twisted the cap off the apple juice. "Since when?" he questioned. It may have been a long time since Luke last watched _Looney Tunes_ , but pretty sure they were never babies.

"And now there's a girl bunny?" Lorelai continued to question.

That he knew, thanks to the movie Shelby had gotten for Christmas. "You mean Lola? Yeah, it's Bugs Bunny's girlfriend."

Lorelai stared over at him in shock. "Bugs got himself a girlfriend?"

"Apparently, and she plays basketball." Now that the juice was poured, Luke took that and the medicine over to the couch, sitting on the edge beside where Shelby laid.

"When did all this happen?"

Luke tore off the plastic wrapping from the medicine lid, tossing it on the coffee table. In the process, he grabbed Shelby's movie that was lying nearby, passing it to Lorelai, who took it to look over. Luke then read the label to see how much Shelby was supposed to take.

"Wait, Michael Jordan did a movie with the _Looney Tunes_?" she continued to question, bewildered.

Shelby turned her head to look up at the woman. "I's good if you wan' to watch i'."

"Heck yeah I want to watch this. Should I pop it in?"

The kid nodded but Luke pointed out, "Don't you have to go to work?" He helped Shelby sit up and handed her the small cup it came with on top, with the correct dosage, having her drink it.

Lorelai had stood up to go put the movie in. "I can take the morning off," she waved him off. Once the movie was playing, Lorelai pulled out her phone to call Michel, at the inn, asking him to cover the desk for a couple hours.

Meanwhile, Shelby drank down the red liquid that was supposed to be cherry flavor. Luke passed her, her juice to wash it down afterwards, exchanging it for the dosage cup when she stuck her tongue out in disgust.

Lorelai ended up being a lifesaver, watching the movie with Shelby. For two hours, the diner was packed with hungry customers looking to get out of the cold and warm up with some hot tea or coffee. Once the sopa was done, Luke took a bowlful up for Shelby, for lunch. Everything seemed to have been at peace, but it was only the calm before another storm hit. He had told her to eat it slowly but since it was soup, Shelby's favorite type of food, she couldn't help herself and some of it ended up a mess on the floor.

Lorelai had to leave as soon as the movie was over since Michel didn't have the mental capacity to deal with annoying people any longer. So Luke had to help Shelby to the bathroom and clean up the mess.

"Sorry I keep making a mess, Daddy," Shelby told him once it had passed and Luke was now scrubbing the floor, down on one knee.

"It's fine, kiddo. Just remember to eat it slowly, okay?"

Shelby did just that. Though, it probably helped she felt worse after that last round and was only able to take a few more bites before wanting to take a nap. Every ten minutes, Luke came up to check on her, carefully feeling her forehead without waking her. About another two hours later, Shelby called him back up with her walkie talkie, complaining her stomach hurt but nothing was coming up.

Luke gave her the second dosage and offered to rub her stomach. By this point, Shelby looked very weak and feeble, it was literally shattering his heart especially when the whimpering resumed.

Lorelai and Rory stopped by after their Friday night dinner, asking how Shelby was doing. It was still about the same as that morning, so it seemed the kid would be bedridden for a few days. Thankfully, she had the weekend to rest and would hopefully feel better to return to school on Monday.

Jess got home late that night after Luke had closed, heading straight for where Shelby was still laying, now watching cartoons again. He held out a VHS case to her.

"Wha's tha'?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Got ya something to watch while you're sick," he shrugged causally.

Shelby reached up to take the VHS and looked at it. "Whoa, you go' me _Lilo and 'titch_?" she asked.

"Yep. Saw it while unloading a shipment of tapes and DVDs."

"Thank you."

"No problem, Scout," he told her.

Giving her cousin the best puppy dog look she could, Shelby asked, "Will you watch i' with me?"

There was some hesitation and discomfort. "I'm actually pretty tired and about ready to crash."

Shelby looked disappointed but said he could go to sleep instead of watching the movie. He thanked her and told Shelby, he would make it up to her some other time.

"You can even cream me on the basketball game some time this weekend if you want," he assured her.

"Okay." She still looked disappointed as Jess headed for the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed.

Luke went over to take the movie from her, ripping the clear wrapping off. "I'll watch it with ya, kiddo." That made her smile up at him which he returned.

With Jess in bed, they had to keep the volume down as Shelby half laid on her dad, both watching the movie. Or, tried to at least. Neither one made it through the whole thing and ended up falling asleep.


	62. Chapter 62

Chapter 62

It was a pretty relaxed weekend for Shelby. As much as a weekend being sick could be anyway. Her body still ached a little on Saturday, but by this point, was extremely bored and did not want to sleep or watch TV anymore. So, instead, she laid on her back, holding her GameCube controller on her stomach while she played _Luigi's Mansion_. She had her own file she had started, plus a second one Shelby played whenever the twins were over and would let them take turns playing. Turns out, _Luigi's Mansion_ was a ghost-capturing game where the player had to capture a bunch of ghosts and turn some of them back into portraits. Luke of course had a lot of issues with that, especially when Luigi's weapon of choice was a vacuum, and made no sense to him.

Shelby still threw up a couple times but not as much as the day before, and was able to hold food down better, as long as it was something easy on the stomach. She really enjoyed having the opportunity to eat all the soup she wanted. The boys were bummed they couldn't come over and play video games with Shelby. It was a nice break with not having anyone else over. Luke wasn't sure how parents with more than one kid could do it on a regular basis. One was definitely enough, and the one he did have was easy to manage, thankfully.

By Sunday, though, Shelby was feeling a lot better, and Monday morning, she was able to go back to school. Mr. Harris worked with her on the tests she missed on Friday, and Shelby was able to take the spelling test with Ms. Kelly, who also used the words to help practice her speech. Miss Kelly highly praised the progress the kid was making. Luke, though, gave all the credit for that to Jess when she did. He tried to work with Shelby, too, usually in casual conversation, but it was mostly Jess who was the real hero of helping Shelby with her sounds. The real challenge was that blasted T ending sound that she still seemed to struggle with. Shelby was coming along on the ST, SL, SK, etc sounds, at least.

That week, since Luke thought Jess seemed to be doing well with helping in the diner, suggested Jess do the ordering. Thinking back, Luke probably would have had more success if he told Shelby to do it when it had completely slipped Jess' mind and Luke ended up serving Kirk, a lettuce sandwich. So he had to run to Doose's to grab a few things to tide them over until the next day when Luke could do the ordering.

The following Saturday, despite Ethan and Alan wanting desperately to come over and play, Shelby had offered to help the Gilmore girls clean out their garage first when Lorelai had told Lane, her band could use it to rehearse their music.

While Shelby was over at the girls' house, Luke was having to deal with the beginning construction Taylor was having done on his new shop he was renting from Luke, and in the process, driving Luke crazy until finally he stormed over to say something and ended up wanting to punch Taylor in the nose.

Fed up, Luke tried to walk away, greatly exasperated. That is, until Taylor caught him before he headed back to the diner.

"By the way, Luke," he said. "I noticed you haven't returned any of my lawyer's calls about the lease agreement."

Luke turned back around to stare at the guy, still wanting to punch him in the nose.

"Now, we have to set up an appointment to see that those papers gets signed."

"Forget it," Luke told him, shaking his head. "I'm not going through any lawyer. You want those papers signed, you pick them up and you walk them over to me." He held a finger up as he said, "then I'll sign them."

Taylor did the same with his own finger. "Luke, this is business. It needs to be done properly and legally."

Throwing a hand out to the side, Luke came back with, "It's a standard release form, Taylor. I bought it at Office Depot."

"All the more reason to have a professional take a little look-see," the older man shrugged as Luke rolled his head and shoulders back. "There's a reason they say good lawyers makes for good neighbors."

"Who the hell said that?!"

"Oh, everybody says that," Taylor said. "Okay, now back to work." He then turned back to annoy Tom once more, who kept telling him to get away from his saw. Stealing one last look at Taylor, Luke just walked away before he actually did end up punching him.

Lorelai dropped Shelby off once they were done, around early afternoon. When she excitedly mentioned there were bugs living in Lorelai's garage, Luke told her to go take a shower and to put her clothes immediately into the washer so he could wash them, not wanting an infestation of any kind in not only the apartment but the diner as well, and offered Lorelai to spray the place next time he could.

To make it up to them, the twins stayed the night Saturday, spending most of it playing the GameCube, getting to stay up later than they normally did since Luke kept the diner open a little longer.

Not a surprise to Luke, Taylor did not walk the papers over to the diner for him to sign. Instead, Thursday, he sent someone else, still wanting to do things the way he wanted. She asked Jess who had been standing there when she came in.

"Oh, Lucas," he called in a singsong tone before walking away, thinking she was from the IRS.

"I'm Luke Danes," he said, walking over.

" _Luke_ Danes," she corrected herself, apologizing. "Well, hello, Luke Danes. I'm Nicole Leahy." She was searching around in her bag. "I'm Taylor Doose's attorney."

When Luke heard who she was, he sighed. "Aw, jeez."

Nicole pulled out the papers Taylor was supposed to bring over. "He wanted me to bring…"

Luke held a hand out as he assured, "Yeah, the lease agreements. Yes, I know. I told him to walk them over here," he gave a slight shrug of the same hand, "but hey, what's the fun of being Taylor, right?" Luke searched around at the floor before looking up at her.

"I'm sorry if this is a bad time," she apologized, sincerely. "It won't take me very long."

"No, no," he said. "Fine. Whatever. Let's get this over with." Luke turned and headed around the counter, offering her some coffee.

Nicole happily accepted the offer as she took a seat at the counter, setting her things down. "I really just need to witness your signature, is all," she explained as Luke poured her a cup. "It's actually just a formality."

Being his usual grumpy self, he said, "In other words, completely ridiculous and unnecessary."

"Uh-huh," she agreed.

"Okay." Luke pushed the cup towards her before setting the coffee pot back in its place.

"Mr. Doose really likes things to be formal. And neat...And in triplicate," Nicole waved her hand around her paperwork. "He just loves things in triplicate." She gave him a smile before taking a drink of her coffee. "Mmm," she nodded in satisfaction. "That's a really good cup of coffee." Nicole then set it down to the side which Luke thanked her for, awkwardly, and quickly changed the subject.

Lowering his gaze to sign the papers, he said, "So, tell me something." Luke signed the first page before flipping to the next page. "What's it like being Taylor's lawyer?"

"Well, actually, I'm not exactly Mr. Doose's lawyer. Or only lawyer," she quickly added. "He's one of our select clients, so all of our attorneys deal with him on a rotating basis. It's my month."

"My condolences," he told her.

"Yeah, my father always told me that does not kill you makes you stronger."

"You're gonna be really strong."

Nicole snickered before picking up her coffee to take another sip. "He's not that bad."

"Seriously, if you run into somebody pinned underneath a truck, pick it up. It's gonna be a piece of cake."

While Luke was finishing signing what he needed to sign, Nicole had happened to look over behind him. He glimpsed her wave a hand up as she said, "hi, there." Then she asked him, "She yours?"

Luke looked back behind him, to see Shelby hugging the wall. "Yep, that's Shelby." He gave the kid an encouraging smile before turning forward again. Not too long after that, Luke felt her grab onto his jeans, hiding behind him. "New faces makes her anxious. "

Nicole nodded. "I see." She gave Shelby a kind smile, who was peeking around her dad's legs.

"Okay. Looks like that's the whole nine yards." He dropped the pen he was using and nudged everything back towards Nicole.

"Great," she told him, taking it. "You and Mr. Doose are officially in business together." Nicole quickly said, "I'm so sorry," at Luke's look of discomfort. "I meant that as a good thing."

He assured, "It's okay," holding a hand up.

Nicole started to stand up off the stool. "Well, I will let you get back to work." She started to reach for her wallet to pay for the coffee until Luke told her it was on the house. Nicole suggested letting Taylor pay for it since it was business which was even better in his book. She then turned to leave, saying bye to Shelby.

Once Nicole was gone, Jess came over. "Well, that was an interesting show."

"What are you yammering about?" Luke questioned of his nephew.

"Guess Gloria Allred wants to go slumming."

"Shut up," Luke told him, annoyed, and walked away.

Jess followed. "She was totally coming onto you."

"She was not," he argued.

"Couldn't you hear her panting when you were signing those things?"

"Didn't see it." Luke quickly moved to a different spot but Jess just continued.

"She laughed at your jokes. We both know there's gotta be some ulterior motive to people that laugh at your jokes."

"I laugh a' Dad's jokes," Shelby was finally able to say. Her tone was still soft but the guys could still hear her.

"You also find a sponge with an annoying laugh, funny," he pointed out while leaning against the back counter. Shelby just stuck her tongue out at him. Jess just flicked her in the head, playfully, which she flinched out of his reach before tackling her cousin. However, all Jess had to do was grab onto her and wrap an arm around her neck, in a gentle sleeper hold.

"Will you two knock it off," Luke finally scolded the both of them and made them let go of each other. Getting back to the point, he told Jess, "and besides, even if there was something, which I'm not saying there was, she's a suit. Not my type." He then turned around to make a note in his writing pad.

"Yeah," Jess agreed, stepping towards the front counter to put an extra salt and pepper shaker away underneath, "especially since she's not a monk."

Luke defencely turned on him again. "Oh, I don't go out much? Is that what that's supposed to mean?"

He shook his head once before fully facing his uncle. "Take a look at a calendar. When was the last time you went out on a date? A year? Two years ago?" Jess folded his arms in front of him tightly as he leaned back against the back counter again.

"Last month, wiseass. I went out with Joanna Cooper."

"You gave her a ride home," he pointed out.

"A ride home is the end of a date," Luke argued.

"Only if you go out on a date first."

"I'm not gonna discuss this with you." Luke then started to walk away again.

"Suit yourself." Jess stood up and continued to follow him. "I have to go meet Rory, anyhow. You see, I'm gonna go pick her up. Spend a few hours, actually be with her, then give her a ride home. That's called the end of a date."

"Or, I could stay open a few hours which means you're here till ten. That's also called the end of a date," he said, stubbornly.

Jess just shook his head at nothing as he said, "Hopeless," and gently slapped his uncle on the back before leaving. Even after he left, Luke moved down the counter once last time before stopping to stare at nothing in particular.

Luke then caught a look from Shelby. He gave her a kind smile who gladly returned it.

Lorelai stopped by for dinner that evening. Rory was supposed to be meeting her there and was late. Thankfully, Shelby was able to entertain the woman until Rory could get there. When Luke returned to their table to top off their coffee, he noticed the Gilmore girls had a stack of books and his own kid had a confused but hurt look on her face.

"What are you two doing to my kid?" he asked of them, pointing out the look.

"Nothing, my mom's learning how to fish," replied Rory, seeming like she hadn't even noticed until he pointed it out.

"You're what?" Luke also held a confused look, minus the hurt part.

"I'm learning how to fish," Lorelai repeated with a continuous nod.

"Oh, sorry. Wrong inflection," he said with a nod. " _You're_ what?"

"Go away," she told him.

"Why are you learning how to fish?"

"Um…" Lorelai paused, looking over at Rory, who was focused on her food. "It's just something I wanted to do. Some friends of mine fish. And I thought, if they could do it, I can do it." She waved her hand at him.

"Okay." Luke rolled his head away, not totally buying it. That's when he noticed the confused, hurt look Shelby had, had evolved more towards hurt. He then remembered the kid trying to persuade Lorelai and Rory to come with them on a fishing trip, to which they both politely declined. Neither one was into the whole _catching fish_ thing.

"And what if I am a really great fisher? I mean, what if that's my calling, the thing that I'm meant to do?" She briefly shrugged her hands upward as she continued. "All this time, I've been sitting here with the gift of fish, and I am squandering it. It's like if Mozart walked right by the piano store and never played a note."

"So you're gonna fish to fulfill your destiny," he stated with a nod.

"That's right."

"And you're gonna learn to fish to fulfill your destiny from a book?"

"Yes."

He looked over at Rory to ask, "And you sanctioned this?"

"Yes," she replied confidently.

"Okay, Thelma, Louise, possibly there's another way to learn to fish," he told the two of them.

"The fishing channel," Lorelai told Rory in realization.

But Luke pointed out, "I fish, and taught Shelby how to fish."

"Oh yeah, I've seen those boots thingies outside drying off," Rory remembered.

"Those would be called waders."

"And I'm sure I'll be reading about waders soon in one of these cliffhangers, here," Lorelai waved her finger in circles at the book open in front of her.

"If you want, I can show ya a few things. Get ya started, make sure you don't strangle yourself with your own line. The basics."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" she asked.

"I can come over tomorrow after work," he nodded. "And I'm sure Shelby there would be glad too. Right, Shell?" Surprisingly, all Shelby responded with, was a nod.

Lorelai thanked both of them, but told Luke she didn't want to learn the gross parts that came with fishing, like gutting them.

Shelby was strangely quiet for the remainder of the time they were there, not jumping up to hug either of them good-bye. Once they left, Luke finally confronted his buddy about it.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" He was kneeled beside her chair. Shelby sat with her knees brought up towards her with her heels hanging off the edge of the chair. Luke grabbed onto her right arm and gently rubbed it. "Is it because Lorelai's learning to fish when she wouldn't go with us that one time?"

That time, she at least nodded while staring at nothing.

"I'm sorry, kiddo." Luke leaned forward to kiss the side of her head. "I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it. She's probably trying to impress a friend or something." He looked at her, sideways. When Luke noticed her eyes were starting to water, he reached up to wipe a tear away as it escaped. "Wanna help me teach her since you're a pro at fishing now?"

Again, she nodded.

Luke smiled, moving some hair out of her face. "Come on. I could use some help cleaning up."

Shelby finally looked up and slid off of her chair before wrapping her arms around her dad to hug his neck. Luke rubbed a hand along her back, gently, before she let go and started collecting all of the ketchup and mustard bottles.

The next day, Luke made sure to have everything needed, packed in his truck for the fishing lesson. On the way to Lorelai's, he stopped by the school to pick up Shelby when school let out for the day. Once there, Luke blew up a child's small swimming pool with the same air pump he used to blow up the air mattress he had first gotten for Jess, and filled it with water.

"How come we're no' going to the lake?" Shelby asked, curious.

"Because Lorelai's not ready for the lake yet," he answered.

"You never made me fish in a swimming pool," she pointed out.

"Well, we technically didn't exactly have that luxury since you were living in that foster home, and we didn't have a whole lot of time to work with."

"So, if we did, would I have 'tarted in a swimming pool, too?"

"Yes, we would have. Thankfully, the fish was biting that day anyway, so it worked out."

Shelby looked inside the bucket her dad had sitting nearby where there were trout inside. Once everything was ready, Luke grabbed the two adult fishing rods as he walked over to honk the horn in his truck. Shelby already was holding hers, practicing casting it into the pool and reeled her line back in.

When Luke turned back around, Lorelai stepped out onto the front porch. Apparently, she had done a little shopping.

The two of them stared at the woman, strangely.

"Wha's she wearing, Dad?"

"I don't know but she looks ridiculous," Luke replied.

"I look adorable," Lorelai corrected him before making her way down the steps. "No one ever told me that if you fish, you get to buy an outfit. I'll do just about anything if I can buy an outfit." She seemed very pleased with that fact.

Luke and Shelby both exchanged strange looks between each other.

"I'll just let that go by because we have a lot to do here," he told her.

"Okay. I'll just get my purse before we go." Lorelai turned to head back into the house.

"Go where?"

She stumbled a little as Lorelai made to turn back around. "To the lake."

Shaking his head, Luke said, "You're not ready for the lake."

"Then what am I ready for?"

Luke pointed over at the swimming pool he had filled up.

Lorelai looked appalled as she gasped. "You're putting me in the kiddie lake?" she protested. Lorelai followed him and Shelby over there.

"Gotta crawl before you can walk," he stated, setting the poles and tackle boxes down beside the pool.

She shrugged her hands up, "Well, this is not at all embarrassing. There's not even fish in it." At that point, Luke grabbed the bucket with the trout and dumped them into the pool. "Hey! Oh, they're so cute. Hello, hi boys." While Lorelai pointed out how they seemed like a trout chorus, Luke moved everything over where he set the tackle boxes on a couple of folding chairs.

"I wouldn't get too attached," he pointed out.

"Hi, Gomer," she named one of them.

"There ya go." Luke didn't recall Shelby ever naming any of the fish they caught.

"Oh, don't be scared Pinky."

"And now there's Pinky," he sighed, setting one of the fishing poles on the ground.

Lorelai gently tapped his arm. "Pinky Dowdy from fourth grade. See her eyes darting back and forth, all panicked?" She kneeled down. "She got that way from dodgeball. It's okay, Pinky. Nobody's gonna hurt you. Hey, Pete. Stop crowding Pinky. It's okay, Pinky, just go over there behind Shirl." Slowly but surely, she rose back up.

"Okay, now that everybody knows each other, take this." Luke handed her the fishing pole he was still holding.

"What's that?" she asked, looking at it in her hands.

"Shell?" He let Shelby answer.

"I's your rod and reel," she told Lorelai.

"Oh, it's your rod and reel," Lorelai sounded nervous. "I don't know if the guys are gonna like this."

"Well, we can skip the lesson and just take the trout out for some beers," Luke told her, sarcastically. "It's up to you, really."

A snicker was heard coming from Shelby, in the back of her throat.

"No, I'm going to learn," Lorelai told him, ignoring the kid.

Nodding, he started the lesson. "Okay, I already went ahead and threaded your line through the guides here, and put a hook on it."

"What kind of bait is that?" Lorelai pointed to the hook.

"It's a cork."

"Remind me not to let you cater any of my parties," she said, half jokingly.

"It's to cover the hook," he explained before moving along. "Okay, this little metal thing is the…"

"The bail," Shelby finished. "I's the important par' tha' keeps your line on the spool."

Lorelai repeated what she said, making sure she had it. Both Luke and Shelby took turns explaining the step by step process of casting one's line into the water before letting Lorelai try on her own, releasing at eleven instead of at two o'clock. She tried again, this time, making it into the pool.

"Hey! I made it in the pool! I made it in the pool."

"I see that," Luke told her while Shelby praised her like Luke usually praises her.

"Thanks, Shelster. At least somebody's excited," she teased.

"I'm very excited," Luke pointed out.

"Well then, jump around or something."

"Okay, alright. Now you're going in the pool," he threatened.

"Be nice, Dad," Shelby scolded her dad which Lorelai sang, "somebody's in trouble," and gave Shelby a wink.

Luke just ignored the girls. "Okay, what do ya think?" he asked, clapping and rubbing his hands together. "Ready to take the cork off and try your luck?"

Lorelai stammered as he went to grab the other pole. "I'm ready, but they're not."

"No problem." Luke grabbed the fishing pole, taking it back over, letting Shelby cast her line before doing the same.

Lorelai shook her line around which Shelby told her, she was gonna scare the fish away from the line. "Man, you need a lot of stuff for fishing."

"Well, normally, you don't bring your own lake," Luke pointed out.

"Right, right."

"So, tell me why you're doing this?" he asked, curious.

"Because you told me to."

"I mean, tell me why you're learning to fish," he corrected her.

"Oh. I told you. Some of my friends are going…."

"What friends? Sookie?" he questioned.

She looked at him, as if caught off guard. "What?"

"Is Sookie going fishing?"

"Well," she started to say.

"Or Rory," he shrugged. "Rory suddenly get the overwhelming urge to dig for worms and stand in the middle of a lake at five A.M.?"

Lorelai forced a smile as she said, "Yes."

Luke just smiled, knowing she was lying.

"Okay, fine." She looked ahead long enough to say, "I met this guy."

"Ah," Luke stated as if it became clear but he somehow had a hunch.

"And he's kind of a outdoorsy guy."

"Oh, just your type," he said in sarcasm.

"No, not exactly," she shook her head while forcing a slight laugh. "But he's nice. And, uh, he was talking about fishing, and I think I said something like, oh hey, that sounds great. And so he invited me and so here I am."

Luke shrugged as he stared ahead at the pool this time. "I got it."

"Hmm." There was a short pause. Only a few birds were heard from somewhere nearby until Lorelai said, "sorry I didn't tell you."

He looked over at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. I just felt stupid," she shook her head at the pool, "getting rooked into the thing in the first place, and then...and…" Lorelai continued to shake her head. "Plus, you don't want to hear about my personal life."

Things got quiet again. Luke had began swinging back and forth on his heels. He wasn't sure why this seemed to bother him, but it did. As long as Lorelai was happy, that's all that mattered, right?

Finally, he asked, "So, this would be your first date, or...?"

"Second."

"Second date." Luke nodded toward the pool.

"He took me to this coffee-tasting place."

His eyebrows rose at that. "Coffee-tasting. Just your type." Both of them forced a slight chuckle. "Well, I think that's great."

"Thank you."

"When are you going?" he asked, curious.

"Sunday morning," she replied.

He nodded some more. "Well, hard to be a fisherwoman without your own pole," he pointed out. "You can borrow one of mine if you want."

"Really?"

"I got an extra little tackle box, too. If you want," he quickly added.

"That'll be great." There was another long pause before Lorelai asked, "Can you and Shelby do me one more favor?"

"Sure."

"Put a cork on your hook."

"Sure." He had to nudge Shelby gently in the back with his knee before handing his pole to Lorelai, to fetch a couple of corks. Shelby had gone quiet the whole time, not really saying much else for the rest of the lesson, even when Lorelai mentioned, apparently there's a law that states kids should play soccer. It was Luke who inputted she did want to try every sport at some point, including golf.

"Oh, you should let me know when that time comes. I'm sure my father would love to give her a lesson," Lorelai replied, mostly joking.

"I will do that," he nodded, going along with it. "How's that sound, Shell?" But all he saw was a slight shrug. Not even a smile.

Sunday came. Only Rory had come for breakfast of course since Lorelai had left early that morning for her fishing date. Luke happened to notice later that day, the same woman from before, Nicole, he was pretty sure was her name, talking to Taylor. He waved and cheesily smiled when she returned it and frowned when Taylor also waved to him.

Luke set the plate of food he was holding in front of the person who ordered it, offering to top off his coffee as well before stealing another look at her. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Shelby had made her way over, carrying the rag she was using to wipe down tables and tapped his arm.

Motioning for his ear, Luke kneeled to her level so she could whisper, "You should be happy, Dad." It seemed like Shelby was encouraging him to go ask Nicole out.

Luke couldn't help smile at his buddy. Reaching towards her, he kissed her cheek before standing up to hurry outside, and try and catch Nicole before she left, telling Jess to fill the guy's cup.

"Uh...Miss...Leahy?"

Yeah?" She looked over at him. "Mr. Danes. Hey, how are you?"

"Good, good," he stepped off the sidewalk, "and it's Luke."

"Okay, Luke. What can I do for you?"

"I wouldn't cross there," he pointed at the street behind her.

She glanced out the corner of her eye before asking, "Why not?"

He shrugged, "Taylor's a stickler about jaywalking, and he's town magistrate. I'd hate for ya to be disbarred."

"Well, that would be a bad way to end a career," she nodded at nothing and thanked him.

"Sure. So…" Luke hesitated, never any good at these types of situations. Postponing things still, he asked, "did the release forms all work out? I mean, was my signature okay? 'Cause sometimes I'm kind of in a hurry, and my hand just takes off without me." He moved his hand through the air as if he was writing before replacing it right back into his back pocket where the other hand was.

"Your signature seemed very steady."

"Good, good. 'Cause, you never know." He shook his head at the ground. Nicole was about to turn to leave when Luke suddenly interrupted her. "Listen," he removed his hands, now swinging them together. "I was thinking about that cup of coffee you had at my place the other day. I felt bad making Taylor pay for it. Not that I ever feel bad sticking it to Taylor." Luke forced a chuckle. "I just thought it might get ya in trouble with a client. Hate to see ya disbarred, again." He nodded his head.

She had looked away but turned back to him to admit, "To be honest, I actually paid for the coffee myself."

"Oh."

Nicole nodded.

"Oh, well, then, at least let me pay you back for it," Luke told her.

She stared him. "You want to give me seventy-five cents?"

Luke shook his head, "No," and snorted a little. "No. No. What I meant was…" He tried desperately to work up the courage. If his own kid could do it, then he most definitely should be able to. However, there was somewhat of an internal struggle, sort of holding him back and not just the nervousness. But, finally, he said, "ah, what the hell."

Sliding his hands back into his back pockets, he asked, "Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?"

Nicole suddenly straightened up in surprise. She smiled. "Yeah."

He stared at her with even more surprise. "Really?"

"I'd love to have dinner with you."

"Great. Okay." Luke couldn't believe this was really happening. He took a deep breath in, letting it out. "Well, I have your card. Why don't I give ya a call this week, and," he nodded, "we'll make that happen."

"Sounds good," she smiled towards the ground.

He nodded some more. "Yeah, sounds good." Pointing at the street again, Luke warned, "Watch those crosswalks." She thanked him before he headed back to the diner. As he was walking back, he noticed Shelby had been watching from the window, who suddenly acted like she was wiping down the table nearby. Though, she wasn't the only one watching. Apparently, Jess was too. Him, Luke told to shut up.

He shrugged with a smirk. "I said nothing."

Luke took the coffee pot from him. "Well, don't," and walked away. As he set the coffee pot back into its place, the realization finally sunk in. This was really happening. Luke was going on a date. Technically, he hadn't been on a date since...well, since Rachel. A feeling of butterflies fluttered through his stomach as he thought more about it. He couldn't believe he was doing this. An actual date with somebody his own age…

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry if the last chapter was plotless. Not one of my best. Every now and then that happens.**


	63. Chapter 63

Chapter 63

So, Luke called Nicole to set up a date like he said he would. They decided on not this coming Friday but the following one as that was the first available night they both could meet. In the meantime, Luke prepared himself for the date, including buying a book on where he should take her, and all that fancy stuff Luke assumed Nicole would like. Rachel had been simple like he was so he never had to try with her while Nicole was a lawyer and probably into elegant restaurants and eating fancy meals. There was a lot of pressure to make sure the night would be perfect.

He was so heavily involved in the book, Luke didn't realize he was blocking the walkway when he heard Jess tell him to move.

Jess set the coffee pot back into its place. "What's that?" he asked, curious.

"It's nothing," Luke told him as he continued reading.

"You reading?"

He repeated his last statement.

Jess smirked. "I've never seen you reading." He quickly added, "Aside from the kid books you read aloud."

Luke lowered the book, shooting his nephew a look. "Will you just…" he sighed. "I read."

Shelby climbed onto the stool, setting one of the ketchup bottles on the counter that needed to be refilled. "I've seen Dad read before," she pointed out in his defense.

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" Jess asked of her.

"Manuels and 'tuff like tha'."

"I was talking about actual books, Scout," he pointed a finger at the book in Luke's hands.

"Oh. I don' think I seen Dad read a book on his own," she agreed.

"I read, Shell. Just not as much as you or Jess," Luke explained to her. While his attention was on his own kid, Jess decided to grab a hold of the book to see for himself which Luke protested about.

" _Hidden Romantic Gems of the Restaurant World_ ," he read the book's title and fanned through the pages. "Well, well, well."

Luke stood upright, leaning a hand on the counter. "I would like my property back, please."

Jess lifted his head from the book to ask, "Planning something special?"

Grabbing the book out of his hand, Luke turned back to fully lean on the counter. "No, nothing special. I'm just taking Nicole to dinner on Friday, and I wanna find a place." He flipped through until Luke found the page he was on.

"A place you don't normally go to?"

"Yes," he replied.

"So, a special place."

Luke stared up at him, annoyed. "Will you stop saying that word, please? And yes," he finally admitted before turning back to the book.

"Are you gonna kiss." Shelby asked, curious. "Like Jess and Rory do?"

" _Shelby_ ," Luke scolded, and quickly added towards Jess, "I blame you for this, you know."

The man shrugged, "What did I do?"

"Shelby wasn't interested in... _that_ until you came along."

"Yes, because we all know Scout would have entered the dating age, knowing no clue what harmless kissing even was," he nodded with another smirk.

"I kissed someone before," Shelby stated.

Both guys' heads immediately turned towards the little girl in surprise.

Luke of course was the one to ask, "You, what?" He immediately got up onto his hands.

She nodded her head. "Me, and Ethan, and Alan were talking abou' how Derek and Jess are always kissing girls, so we tried i'." Shelby briefly shrugged.

"Isn't their brother, thirteen?"

"Yeah, bu' he already has a girlfriend."

"Wow, the kid's a fast bloomer," Jess said in surprise, his eyebrows raised. He nodded his head towards his cousin, "So, how did it go?"

Luke quickly hissed, " _Jess_!" before Shelby could answer and turned back to her. "Shell, you can't be kissing your friends at your age. You are too young and I better not hear about you kissing again until you're at least in high school, preferably when you're thirty."

"Bu' I will be grown up and done with school by then," she pointed out.

"I know that," he nodded. "That's why I would prefer it." Luke went back to reading. "I swear, every description in here talks about tablecloths and dish designs, nothing about the food."

Jess was leaning on the counter again. "You are going through an awful lot for this lawyer," he observed.

"She is not a lawyer," he quickly spat in defense. That is until Luke realized what was said. "I mean, she is a lawyer, but she is also a lady, a very nice lady who probably expects good food with her fancy plates and sparse, yet elegant decor."

Jess stood up again and started swinging back and forth while holding onto the counter. "You're pathetic when you're in love."

"I am not in love. I'm dating," he pointed out. "This is what you do when you're dating."

"Not what I do when I'm dating," Jess shrugged.

Standing up, Luke told him, "Well, Rory's a lucky girl." He pointed at the counter as Luke started towards the stairs, "Work. I'm going upstairs."

Jess had stepped out of the way, leaning against the back counter. "Fine," he called after his uncle. "But if a horse-drawn carriage shows up here, my throwing up will be eternal!" As Luke headed up the stairs, he heard Jess telling, no, actually, warning Shelby, once she's dating, the boy will be in a huge world of hurt if he does anything to hurt her. Between him and Jess, Shelby may not ever be able to date at all.

Also in prepping for his date, Luke had a talk with Shelby to make sure she knew what him dating meant and that there was no guarantees or nothing set in stone.

"It may not even go any further than the first date," he was telling her one night while saying good night to her.

"I know," she said.

It took Luke by surprise. "You do?"

Shelby nodded. "Jess told me all abou' his mom dating when he was a kid and how he had a lot of 'tepdads."

Luke let out a sigh under his breath at the remainder at how many guys his sister had dated and even married through the years. "Okay, well, it won't be anything like that, I can promise you."

"Okay," she replied.

"I promise, though. I won't date anyone that doesn't like you." He smiled at his buddy while holding his chin and left arm on the railing and rubbed at her forearm.

Shelby smiled at that. "As long as you're happy, too, Dad."

Leaning in towards her, Luke gave her a kiss on the forehead. Shelby then made him give each of her stuffed animals a kiss as well, and her collection wasn't exactly just Pikachu anymore. He tried to object with an "aw jeez," but she just gave him a puppy dog look that made the guy cave. So, one by one, Luke kissed Pikachu, Maggie the kitten, Davey the koala, Harry the bear, and Charizard before saying good night.

On the way back to his side, Luke checked in on Gexie, who was snacking on her calcium powder, still going strong. The gecko had really taught Shelby a lot more on responsibility, and Luke couldn't be any more proud of how much his little buddy has been taking care of her new friend, seriously.

The big night finally arrived. Luke started getting ready a couple of hours before Nicole was supposed to arrive. He showered and changed into one of the outfits Lorelai had picked out on her frenzied shopping trip when he loaned her, his credit card. To top it off, the guy also shaved which Shelby reminded him on how different he looked whenever Luke completely shaved.

Shelby also tried to help out as much as she could, spraying the shaving cream into his hand when he asked for it. Being the curious type, Shelby ended up asking why guys shaved and why girls didn't have to.

"They do, just not usually the face," he explained while staring into the mirror and carefully shaving off his usual stubble.

"Wha' do girls shave, then?"

"Uh...their legs, under their arms. Places like that." This was actually kind of awkward and his anxiety rose at the realization he was going to have to find a way to teach her how to shave her legs at some point. Luke turned red in the face just thinking about it.

The response was not what he expected, though.

"I'm gonna ge' hair on my legs and under my arms?" Her eyes were enlarged as she stared up at him, alarmed.

He stopped shaving to look over at her. "It's perfectly normal, kiddo. We all get body hair at some point in our lives. I will teach you all about it when you're closer to puberty." Luke resumed shaving.

"Wha's pew-ber-tee?" she asked.

"Uh…" Luke hesitated that time, realizing his mistake. He looked back at her to explain. "It's, uh, that point in time...w-when your...your body starts to change."

"Change how?"

He let out a sigh. "When…" Luke could just feel his face go beet red. In the mirror, he looked like a tomato. "It's when you...you start to...uh, you know what, maybe ask Lorelai. I'm sure she can tell you more about it since boys and girls go through it, differently." Luke had to take deep breaths and relax before resuming shaving again.

"Okay," she said.

Luke felt himself breathe easier when Shelby accepted that answer.

Once he finished getting ready, a car was heard pulling up out front. Shelby hurried to the window to look outside.

"She's here, Dad," she called over to him as Luke was sitting on his bed, tying his shoes. All ready, Luke grabbed his jacket on his way downstairs where Lorelai was also there, looking frantic.

"Thank God," he heard her say as Luke put his jacket on. "Hey, I desperately need a massive cup of coffee to go." Lorelai sat down at the counter next to where Kirk was sitting. She abruptly stopped when she noticed him. "What happened to your face?"

"What do you mean?" he asked as he straightened out his jacket.

"It's visible."

"I shaved." Once he was done, Luke reached under the counter for a cup.

Lorelai half laughed. "Are you going to the bank?"

Before Luke could answer, Shelby perked up. "He's going on a da'e," she said, happily.

Lorelai stared over at the little girl. "A what?"

"Let's get ya your coffee, shall we?" Luke insisted when she switched back over to him.

"Hey, isn't that the sweater…?"

"Yes it is," he said, quickly.

"Uh, wow. You look nice," she complimented, somewhat still in surprise by what Shelby had said.

"Thank you."

At that moment, the door opened.

"Hi," Nicole greeted.

"Hi," Luke returned the greeting. Once he had finished pouring and had the lid on the cup, he made his way around to introduce Nicole to Lorelai.

Glancing between them, Nicole said, "Nice to meet you. I'm Nicole Leahy," and held out her hand for Lorelai to shake.

"Lorelai Gilmore," Lorelai returned the greeting.

"And Shelby, you already met," Luke pointed Shelby out, who was peeking out from around the counter, shyly.

"Of course." Nicole smiled over at the little girl. "Hi, Shelby," she waved before turning back to Luke. "Wow, you look nice," she complimented.

"Yeah, you too," he replied. Already, Luke felt nervous, his heart beating against the inside of his chest.

"So, are you ready? Or should I sit down?"

Luke held his arm out towards the door. "No, let's go. I'm ready."

At that moment, Nicole's phone rang from inside her purse. Apologizing, she quickly fished it out to answer. With her back turned, Luke headed over to sit down. While on the phone, Lorelai protested that Nicole was using her cellphone in the diner, pointing out the _no cellphones_ sign, and Luke wasn't saying anything about it. He ended up having to restrain her like a small child until Nicole finished. They immediately stopped whenever she turned back around, quickly jumping to their feet.

"Sorry," Nicole apologized once more. "Phone is going off."

"It's okay. Make as many calls as you want," Luke assured, trying to catch his breath.

Nicole nodded towards Lorelai, "Nice meeting you."

"You too," she replied, sitting back down.

She also made sure to say bye to Shelby as well. "It was nice seeing you again, Shelby," she smiled a kind smile. "I'll take good care of your dad." A small smile appeared on the kid's face.

Before Luke left, he bent over to kiss his buddy good-bye. "See ya, kiddo. Be good for Caesar and Jess, okay?"

"I will," she whispered for only Luke to hear and kissed him on the cheek.

Luke smiled, knowing she would. "Make sure Jess stays out of trouble too." He then gave her a wink.

"I will make sure Lor-lai does too," she added, which made Luke chuckle.

"Okay then." Luke then stood back up and followed after Nicole.

Outside, he made sure Nicole got into his truck, okay, closing the door for her. As he hurried around the back end, Luke noticed Shelby was talking to Lorelai, who seemed to be in even more shock. Assuming Shelby must have taken his advice, he silently snickered under his breath as he slid in under the wheel and stuck his key in the ignition. Then it struck him, Luke probably should not have done that as now Shelby would be one step closer to knowing about that stuff. In all of the nervousness of his date and Shelby asking him questions about puberty, he wasn't exactly thinking straight.

At the restaurant, Luke made sure to be a complete gentleman, making sure Nicole was seated before he was. Once they had their drinks poured, Luke and Nicole looked over the menus. Nothing looked appetizing to him but chose the one that sounded the most. The waiter took their orders before taking their menus and walked away to place it.

Not much on what to say, Luke mostly just listened as he let Nicole talk. It was difficult coming up with topics to talk about even after their food arrived and they began eating. He did ask how hers was which she said her food was good, though didn't seem sure of that fact. She asked about his business and stuff like that, but what really worked was when she finally asked about Shelby. Up till this point, Luke wasn't even sure if the topic of children was even supposed to come up on a first date.

"So," she said, wiping her mouth on her napkin. "Shelby seems like a good kid."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah. She sure is," he smiled before stabbing up some more roast beef and potato onto his fork. "She's pretty much my whole world at this point." Was that something okay to say to a woman you was on a date with?

However, Nicole seemed pleased to hear that. "That is really sweet. Does she live with you every weekend, or every other week?"

"Every day, actually. I have full custody and her only legal parent." He took a bite of his food, washing it done with some wine.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed…"

Luke held a hand up. "It's okay. Really."

"May I ask what happened to her mom?" Nicole, too, took a drink.

He shrugged. "Her mother and I always had a few problems. We came close to settling down a few times, but she was never the settling down type. Every time, she would grow bored and take off for wherever. She was a free spirit who didn't like the small town life, so she left." Luke shrugged once more. "Didn't even tell me she was pregnant. I found out five years later by Shelby's CPS caseworker."

"Oh...so Shelby was put up for adoption without your knowledge?"

Luke nodded. "Yep."

"So, how did you find out about her?"

"Well, apparently, they were supposed to contact me to make sure I was okay with surrendering my rights, but they never did. The caseworker did end up apologizing. By the impression Shelby's mother gave, she just thought I wasn't a good person or something. Thankfully, the office got a new supervisor who ordered them to contact me when Shelby wasn't being adopted."

"That sounds like an unorganized office."

He shrugged. "It all worked out and now I have Shelby, so that's all that matters." He smiled. "That kid has gotten me to do things I never thought I'd do."

Nicole smiled at her plate. "Well, it seems like you and your daughter have a very sweet, wonderful relationship."

Luke chuckled at that. "She calls me her best friend."

"Aw," she commented. "That is very sweet."

"Yeah." He scooped up some more of his food.

The conversation ended up turning around. Nicole allowed him to spend a huge portion of the conversation on Shelby, asking all about her. Luke even got out his wallet and showed her all of the photos he kept of the kid in there, including her sports and school photos. The topic of Shelby's anxiety also came up.

"Have you considered sign language for her?" Nicole asked as they were finishing up their meals.

"She's not deaf," he shook his head. "Shelby just has a hard time speaking up in uncomfortable positions."

"Sign language isn't just for the hearing impaired these days. If it's talking Shelby has a hard time with, it might take some of the pressure off by signing her words."

"But not everyone knows sign language." He shrugged, "I don't even know it, and I don't even know anyone that does. That's gonna make her even more anxious, and I'd prefer not to go back to the days where she was having frequent anxiety attacks. Those things almost killed me just watching her. And besides, her speech therapist seem to know what she's doing. In class, Shelby uses these flashcards when she can't speak out, and that really seems to do the trick."

"Well, it's a suggestion to consider," Nicole assured him it wasn't a huge deal.

"I appreciate it. All it really takes with her is a lot of patience and time, and eventually, she'll warm up to you. The day she first spoke to me felt like I was hearing her say her first words. It was incredible and I couldn't help feel proud."

Nicole leaned on her arms. "So, in a way, you still got to experience what it would have felt like had you had her from the beginning."

Luke smiled at nothing. "Yeah, I guess you can say that," he looked up at her.

Talking about Shelby actually did help Luke to be able to relax and talk about other topics, even sharing stories about his father which continued as they finally left the restaurant and on the way back to the diner. He finished the cheese story as they headed inside, ending with both of them, laughing.

"So, you want some coffee?" he offered.

"I'd love some coffee," she answered.

Luke offered her a seat nearby just as Shelby came hurrying over, throwing her arms around his legs. "Hey, Shell. Kept the peace here while I was gone?"

Shelby nodded up at him.

He smiled at her before having Jess serve some coffee for Nicole.

Jess grabbed the pot and a cup, bringing it over to the table as Luke sat across from her.

"So, I have to say, I really hated that restaurant," Nicole admitted.

"Good," Luke replied, sitting down. "I like that we're on the same page here." He removed his gloves.

"I did, however, have a really good time."

Leaning forward on his arms, Luke said, "Once again, I like that we're on the same page here."

Jess came over at that point, serving Nicole some coffee which she thanked him for. "You have a good time?"

Nicole smiled over at Luke. "Yes, we had a really good time."

Smirking, Jess set the coffee pot down. "Well, Shelby and I are gonna go out for about an hour." He winked over at Shelby and motioned for her to follow.

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked. "It's eleven-thirty."

He was backing away towards the door. "I don't know." Jess just shrugged. "We're just gonna go out for about an hour."

"Where?"

"Out." Jess grabbed his and Shelby's jackets from the coat rack, passing Shelby, hers.

"Out, where?" He persisted.

"Out, for about an hour."

Luke stared at his nephew in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Sighing under his breath, Jess told him, "I'm talking about going out for about an hour. What? You need more time?" He then threw on his jacket.

Turning back to Nicole, Luke asked, "Will you excuse me for a minute." He got up and pulled Jess outside, also letting Shelby know to stay put.

"Sure," Nicole assured him.

Now outside where they couldn't really be heard from those inside, Luke then lectured Jess, slapping him on the back of the head, before they came back inside.

"Guess we're not going out for about an hour," Jess said in defeat.

"Say good night, Jess," Luke told his nephew, firmly.

"I don't understand you," he muttered towards him.

"My mystique is part of my charm." Luke pointed a hand towards upstairs.

"Would you at least like us to take a walk around the block?"

"Go upstairs."

Jess headed for the stairs as he told Nicole, "Sorry, I tried." To Shelby, he said, "Come on, Scout. I'll read ya another chapter of _Goblet of Fire_." On the way up, she tugged on his shirt so he'll lower his ear to her. "I'll explain when you're older."

With those two gone, Luke continued his date. Things continued to go well but couldn't help notice things get awkward when Nicole ordered another cup of coffee, and he accidentally brought Lorelai up. Other than that, things were fine, and Nicole seemed interested in a possibility of a second date. Something Luke did not expect to happen. It was refreshing to know the date went great, though, and he had to admit, he had a really good time, as well.


	64. Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Surprisingly, the dates lasted longer than Luke expected and have gotten to know Nicole, a little bit more. About three weeks into dating when she introduced him to the Broadway shows in New York, Nicole suggested Shelby might like to see _The Lion King_ and _Beauty and the Beast_. Luke ran it by Shelby, one night, during their guitar lesson. Having enjoyed school plays and shows Miss Patty had put on with her dance classes, Shelby agreed and ended up loving them so much that on the car ride home, she sang all of the songs until falling asleep.

Though, with juggling work, Shelby, and now dating, provided a few conflicts but they weren't minor and Luke was able to work them out, like when he scheduled a date the same night the twins' were spending the night. Thankfully, Jess had been in the diner when Shelby reminded him.

"Hey, Jess, you mind keeping an eye on the kids, Friday night during Shelby's sleepover?"

Of course, at first, Jess was quick to point out, "Can't. I got plans with Rory, here, Friday night."

Then Rory reminded him, "I have dinner at my grandparents', Friday. Remember?"

He then stammered, "Uh, I mean, I have to work that night," and snapped his fingers as if Jess suddenly remembered. "Yeah, now I remember. I have to work."

"Jess, it's just for a couple hours," Luke told him, knowing Jess was lying. "They'll probably be playing video games the whole time anyway."

A look of discomfort appeared on the young man's face. If it was just his cousin, Luke knew Jess wouldn't mind. But having an extra set of kids thrown in, however, he would mind very much so.

"How about this," Rory said, "how about you watch them for a couple hours, and when I'm done, I'll come over and help you. Then we can do something afterwards when Luke comes back. How's that?"

"I like the 'doing something afterwards part'. Can we just skip everything else and do that part?" he asked, hopeful.

"Jess, come on. It's just three kids, and one of them is your cousin, whom you adore."

"And who says I adore her?" Shelby was about to speak up about that until Jess suddenly grabbed onto her, wrapping his hand around her mouth, holding Shelby against his side. "Sorry, just felt the need to hug my little cuz."

Rory just smirked at him, not buying it. "Uh huh." She then turned her attention over to Luke, "You can count on Jess, Luke," and added, "it'll just be for a couple hours until I can get back here," when Jess grumbled under his breath.

"Okay, fine, but you owe me," he pointed a finger at her.

"Duly noted," she replied.

Jess pushed himself up from the table before leaning over to kiss her and told Shelby to grab her backpack so he could take her to school on his way.

Now that all three had some kind of "friend," worked and/or had school, Luke, Jess, and Shelby hardly see each other anymore. Luke tried to squeeze in a guitar lesson or quick chat with Shelby before bed, but other than that, they rarely had time to spend time with each other which was why Nicole suggested bringing Shelby along when they caught a show in New York.

Even Jess tried to squeeze in time with his cousin, now and then. Because of that, Shelby was sad when he had to tell her they had to reschedule when Rory also convinced him to come to a Friday night dinner to meet her grandmother.

Since Shelby had ridden her scooter to the twins' house, Jess left for work, telling Luke he would talk to Shelby later about it. However, Luke had specifically given her a time frame to be home but when she didn't show, he grew extremely worried.

Luke called the boys' parents to see if Shelby had just lost track of time and was still over there, but their father told him she had left about an hour or so ago. He called Lorelai to see if she had seen her, but wasn't answering her phone. Luke was about to go out and turn over every stone in town when Shelby emerged from Miss Patty's with Rory and Dean, lifting her scooter down the steps.

"Shelby Danes!" he exclaimed hurrying over to them, interrupting the conversation the three were having. First, Luke hugged his little buddy tight now that he could breathe, not wanting to ever let go. This time, it was Shelby who was having a hard time, breathing by how tight he was hugging her. Then Luke started in on her before anyone could explain. "Where have you been? You were supposed to be back hours ago, Shelby."

"I was on my way home, then Miss Pa'ty pulled me in to lis'en to some new 'tuff," she tried to explain, nervously. "I didn' have a choice."

Both Rory and Dean came to her rescue, backing the kid up.

"It's true. Miss Patty held a lot of us, hostage," said Rory.

Luke looked from the teenagers, back to his own kid, who pretty much looked petrified. Shelby hadn't really been in any serious trouble since she got into the fight with Toby, the previous school year.

Since it wasn't Shelby's fault, Luke let things slide and made a mental note to tell Miss Patty not to kidnap his kid without his knowledge so he wouldn't have to have a panic attack. Thanking Rory and Dean, he and Shelby headed back to the diner as he asked how her day was. Since she hadn't worked her two hours in a couple of days, Luke suggested Shelby help him with the remainder of the shift. It wasn't until past closing time did Jess finally get home from work.

"Hey, Scout," he greeted first thing, stealing a quick peck on the side of her forehead while she was restocking the napkins for tomorrow. Luke could barely believe his eyes when he caught it.

"Did you just kiss your cousin."

"No," he replied without any thought or hesitation.

"What do you mean, no? I just saw you," Luke pointed a hand out.

Jess shook his head. "No, I think you're seeing things."

"I know what I saw, Jess."

Turning back to Shelby, Jess said, "Scout, I think we may have to check your dad into a nursing home, early. I think he's losing it." Luke caught him give her a quick wink.

Shelby went along with it when he winked. "Yep," she nodded with a smirk.

Feeling outnumbered, Luke let it go. Instead, he told Shelby to get back to work. Since Jess helped out this morning, he was off the hook for the rest of the day. Before Jess headed upstairs to shower, he broke the news to Shelby.

"By the way, I know we planned on hanging out next Friday, but unfortunately, I have to take a rain check. Rory wants me to come to dinner and meet her grandmother."

Even though she didn't sound happy about it, Shelby told him, "Tha's okay. We can hang ou' another time."

Jess was leaning over her. "I promise I will make it up to you. Next day off I get, it'll be spent with you. Got it?"

That made Shelby smile and nodded her head while looking up at him, upside down. He then stood up straighter before stealing one last kiss on the same spot and headed for upstairs.

"There. I saw you again," Luke was quick to point out as he watched Jess head around the counter.

"You're really losing it, _Uncle_ Luke," he called as Jess headed up the stairs, making Shelby giggle at the pair. "Work," Luke told her, firmly. She may have but Shelby continued to stifle a snicker or two as she continued stocking the napkins.

Lorelai stopped in the next day asking for coffee of course, stating she was planning a trip to Manhattan, and needed some new, warmer clothes which Luke tried to point out she had warmer clothes already, listing each one that went with the coat she was wearing. She then reminded him of her love for shopping, mildly annoyed.

"So, what are you doing in New York?" he asked as Luke poured her coffee.

At first she seemed to hesitate as she sat on a stool. "Uh, a bunch of us are going. It'll be a dinner and a show."

Luke looked at her with interest. "What show?"

" _Levittown_. It's a new musical."

He nodded. "Yeah, It's in previews. Doesn't officially open for another couple of weeks." Luke snapped the lid on the to-go cup for her.

"Wow," she replied, impressed, "so informed."

"Nicole likes the theater," he explained. "Her firm has an office on Madison. I've met her there a couple times. Saw _Hairspray_ there last week."

Lorelai smiled, seeming very amused. "I cannot picture you watching _Hairspray_."

"It's okay," Luke smiled in returned. "I liked _The Producers_ better."

"Aren't you just a Broadway baby."

"We took Shelby to a couple shows as well," he added. "She completely fell in love with _Lion King_. Sang all the songs almost the whole way home until she sang herself to sleep."

The smile vanished. "W-wait. You took Shelby with you?"

Luke nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. In almost her eight years on this planet, Shelby's never been to New York, and she loves music. Plus, we've both haven't been able to spend much time with each other, so Nicole suggested bringing her along."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Letting Shelby go with you?"

"Why not? Nicole knows how close Shelby and I are, and how important she is to me, so Nicole wants to get to know her and spend some time with her, too."

Lorelai didn't seem so sure about that. "I don't know, Luke. What if Shelby gets attached and it doesn't work out between the two of you. The kid's gonna be devastated."

"It's fine. I had a talk with Shelby, and explained what it meant with me dating, and she understands nothing is set in stone," he assured her. "Jess even gave her a head's up on having your parents date, too, so, she's fine with all of it."

She still didn't seem one hundred percent convinced, but took his word for it anyway. Changing the subject, Luke asked if Lorelai would have any free time during her visit to New York, and recommended a book he had upstairs and could run up to grab it. Thanking him, Lorelai did just that, returning shortly looking freaked out.

"Find it okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I found everything, including a couple coupling." She then followed him back towards the counter.

"Rory and Jess?"

"No, Ben and J-Lo," Lorelai responded with sarcasm. "Yes Rory and Jess."

"Guess I should have told ya." He made his way around, behind the counter.

"You knew they were up there?" she questioned.

"They're up there all the time."

Lorelai scoffed as if in disbelief. "On the couch? Horizontal, on the couch?"

"They come up for air every so often."

"And you just allow this?" she questioned. "Luke! What if Shelby were to walk in on them?"

"Settle down," he told her. "I go up there every ten minutes pretending to get something to keep them from doing something we don't want. Oops, I forgot my pocket knife. Oops, I'm out of ones.' Luke looked underneath to grab the box of stuff he keeps there. "Hey, have you seen a case of mustard up here?" He set it on top of the counter as he continued to explain. "I put the stuff in a box. I take that box upstairs every couple of days then start all over again. And while they're up there while Shelby's here, I have her either working on homework down here or working to keep her busy, and let her know not to go up there until the two emerges."

She stared at him. "And you think that suffices?"

"Look, it's better they're safe and upstairs than some place else, and you going up there just saved me a trip, so thanks." Luke lifted the box, returning it to his hiding spot.

"Glad to be of service," Lorelai replied, sarcastically again.

"It's been a good service," he stated as he shifted the box under there. "It works. I'll probably do it when Shelby's older and dating."

"Every ten minutes?" she asked.

"Like clockwork. Never a minute more."

"Even if you're serving a customer, it's every ten minutes?" Lorelai had gotten her wallet out to pay for her coffee.

"If I'm in mid-pour, I stop and go up."

She let out a sigh as Lorelai returned her wallet to her purse. "Every ten minutes." Lorelai looked away as if she was in thought. "Yep, that's pretty much the time it took to create Rory, and that included getting dressed and freshening my lipstick." She started to leave.

Luke suddenly stared at her in surprise. "What?"

Lorelai thanked him for the book as she headed for the door.

"It took twice that long for us to create Shelby," he pointed out, though a little louder than Luke meant to, receiving strange looks from customers and Jeff.

But Lorelai had already left.

Luke could feel himself glow red from the stares, before rushing upstairs, telling Caesar to cover for him. Rushing up to the apartment, he shoved the door open, making both Rory and Jess shoot apart from each other.

"Uh, hey, Jess." His mind raced with some kind of excuse as to why he was up there again. Then remembered it was about that time for Shelby to get out of Sunday school."

"Yeah," the young man answered, leaning forward with his arms on his knees as if trying to act natural.

"Since the Sunday brunch rush is starting to come through, you mind going to pick up your cousin for me?"

Jess glanced down at his watch. "She doesn't get out for another forty, fifty minutes," he pointed out.

"I'm sure she'll be out by the time you get there," Luke shrugged.

"The church is not even ten minutes away."

"Come on, Jess. I'll walk with ya, and we can talk more about that book," Rory told him, standing up from the couch.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Jess began to shove his foot inside his shoe, doing the same with the other.

Luke just about panicked when he saw Jess had taken off his shoes. "Why are your shoes off?"

"I like to be comfortable indoors. Relax, we didn't do anything," he assured his uncle. Once Jess had tied the laces, the teenagers headed downstairs. Jess was quick to point out, with sarcasm, "Gee, this is some late, Sunday morning crowd we've got this week," seeing as there were only a few customers as they left the diner.

Luke felt he scored a victory. Or hoped anyway.

On Friday, Jess picked Shelby up from school. When they got back to the diner, Jess hurried upstairs as fast as possible, stating he had to get ready for tonight.

"What was all that about?" Luke asked of Shelby, confused why Jess had sped passed so fast.

"Uh, he has to pee," Shelby replied.

Luke caught onto the pause, looking at her, sideways, suspiciously. "What's going on between you two."

"Nothing, Dad," she tried to say.

He folded his arms across his chest, firmly looking the kid in the eye. "Alright, Shelby. Tell me what's really going on. You know you won't be in trouble if you tell me the truth."

Shelby nervously stared up at her dad, holding her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"Shelby," he said.

Biting her lip, she looked towards the floor for a long time. Softening up, Luke unfolded his arms to lift Shelby up onto the counter. He then leaned against the edge, one hand on either side of her.

"It's okay, kiddo. Just tell me what happened," Luke encouraged her softly.

There was a long pause as Shelby fidgeted her hands in her lap. "J-Jess...go'..." Luke lifted his right hand to rub it along her arm, comfortingly. Suddenly, Shelby blurted out, "Jess and I were wres'ling, and I acciden'ly punched him and gave him a black eye!" Her eyes had snapped shut while she was blurting the confession out. There was another long pause before Shelby slowly opened them and stole a look up at her dad.

"You punched him?" Luke couldn't help ask in disbelief that a little kid like Shelby had enough strength to leave a black eye. "And gave your eighteen-year-old cousin a black eye?"

She nodded pitifully. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn' mean to." The kid looked close to tears that it basically made his heart putty.

Pulling her in, he wrapped his arms around the little girl and kissed the top of her baseball cap. "I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt your cousin, kiddo. It's okay. You're not in any trouble," Luke assured her, rubbing her other arm this time.

Shelby pushed away to look at her dad. "Bu' don' tell him. He's really embarrassed abou' i'." Technically, that last comment should have been a red flag something was amissed, but Luke assured her everything would be fine.

Jess eventually came back downstairs but didn't stop to chat, yelling out he was leaving for Hartford. He was still acting sort of strangely but chalked it up to Shelby's story. It was late when Jess had finally returned. Both Luke and Shelby had already gone to bed.

Luke was still dozing off to sleep when he faintly heard the bunk bed creak and Shelby's tiny voice ask how his eye was.

"It's fine, Scout. Go back to sleep," Jess seemed to whisper, aggressively. By the sound of it, it seemed like the guy was in a sour mood. Shelby tried to ask if he was okay, catching onto the tone of his voice. Jess softened a little. "I'm fine, just tired, is all. Okay?"

"Okay," she too was whispering but loud enough Luke could still hear. "Good nigh', Jess."

"Night, Scout." There was a long silence before the bunk bed squeaked again, indicating Jess had laid down.

Since Jess came in late, he was the last up the next morning. When he finally came downstairs, that's when Luke finally got a look at the black eye.

"Whoa." Shelby really did do a number on him. Luke was bewildered over it.

Jess snapped back with, "What?"

"You're Petey the dog."

"I prefer to not talk about this," he stated.

"Boy, Shelby really let ya have it, I guess," he snickered.

"Huh?" Jess bolted his head back as if he had no clue what Luke was talking about.

"When you guys were wrestling and she accidentally punched ya," Luke reminded him. Though, when Jess still seemed surprised, that was when it finally caught up to him that Shelby wasn't exactly truthful in her confession. But Jess continued to push the matter aside, wanting to get to work instead. So Luke just dropped it and told him to start clearing dishes.

Before long, the phone rang. Luke answered it to find it was Rory calling for Jess, who didn't want to talk. That added to the bewilderment. Luke had to tell her, Jess went somewhere. Once he hung up, he called Shelby over before literally dragging both of them into the back room, crossing his arms once again.

"What is this?" Jess demanded, annoyed.

"Look," Luke pointed a finger between the cousins, "you two are my responsibility. _You_ ," pointing at Jess, "are exhibiting signs of violent behavior, and _you_ ," pointing over at Shelby, "seem to be covering up for him when you know better than to lie. And I don't care how much _you_ ," pointing at Jess again, "don't wanna talk about it. Neither one of ya are leaving until somebody spills. Now, tell me. Where did you get the black eye?" He tucked his hand back into his other arm, firmly.

Shelby nervously looked from her dad to her cousin, not saying a word.

"Jess," Luke said, trying to take some of the pressure off the kid.

"You wouldn't believe it anyway," he stated and tried to leave but Luke grabbed onto him to keep Jess from leaving.

"Try me, tough guy."

There was a slight pause. The cousins exchanged a quick look with each other. Finally, it was Jess who spoke first with some hesitance.

Assuring Shelby it was okay, he said, "A swan."

Luke wasn't sure if he had heard right. "Excuse me?" he questioned, shaking his head.

"I was attacked by a swan, okay? You happy? A stupid swan."

Shelby nodded as if to back him up.

Luke cleared his throat, not at all buying it. "Come on, Jess. Shelby's fake story was better than that."

"That is the real story," he protested. "It hangs out by Larson's dock. We were just walking by, and the thing came out of nowhere and bam!" He waved his hand towards his own face. "Beaked me right in the eye."

"It beaked you?"

"You still don't believe me."

"Tha's the real 'tory this time, Dad. Hones'," Shelby spoke up that time.

"It's not that I don't believe him, Shell. I just never heard anyone use the word beaked as a verb before," Luke told her while trying to stifle a chuckle.

"No, this isn't funny," Jess shot at him. "That...stupid bird attacked me. He could have blinded me. He could have attacked _your_ kid had I not pushed her behind me. It's a very vicious, vicious bird…"

Luke was still trying to stifle a chuckle and tried to keep a straight face.

"Fine," he finally said. "Forget it." Jess then stormed from the room.

Luke stared at nothing before looking over at Shelby, who was holding her hands behind her back.

"I'm sorry I lied, Daddy," she told him, sincerely, trying to meet his gaze.

"Just...go start wiping down tables," Luke told her. "And there will be no video games or TV for the remainder of the weekend."

Shelby frowned at the sound of no TV or video games, looking like she wanted to cry. "Bu' Jess didn' wan' anybody to know," she tried to plead her case.

"Doesn't matter. I told you to always tell me the truth. Now go." He motioned towards the doorway. Shelby dropped her gaze towards the floor and headed out to start wiping down the tables, shuffling her feet like she was walking to her execution.

Even after all this time, it was still difficult being the tough dad. Luke eventually followed his little buddy out to the front of the diner where Jess seemed to be looking for something.

"What are you doing?" Luke questioned of the guy.

When Jess finally found what he was looking for, he held up what looked like a ladle before heading around the counter with it, towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

Jess stopped in his tracks to look back at his uncle. "I'm gonna do a little beaking of my own." He then headed out as Luke called after him, "Jess, not the ladle. That's a brand new ladle."

Luke let out a silent sigh under his breath when Jess pushed through the door. "Take the baster." Telling Caesar he'd be back and to keep an eye on Shelby, Luke hurried after his nephew. He ended up following Jess all the way to the lake where Jess jumped into a boat that was nearby. They did end up seeing a swan swim by, seeming peaceful and minding its own business, but not before the two had a nice chat about a fight Jess and Rory had apparently gotten into.

On the way back to the diner, after a long silence, Jess said, "Listen. Go easy on Scout. I told her not to say anything, alright?"

"I know, she told me. But she also still knows better. I appreciate you sticking up for her, though."

Jess just shrugged as they continued walking.

Pretty sure the kid could survive one weekend without watching TV or playing video games, anyway.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So, after talking it over with a fellow fanfic writer, I think I am going to start tacking a disclaimer to every chapter from here on out as there seems to still be some confusion. As I said, this story follows the series. That means, all major events that have happened on the show will happen in this as well, including Luke and Lorelai not dating until season four when they actually start dating. Yes, that also means Nicole will be here for a while and yes they are still getting married. Being a father does not make you immune to poor decisions that can greatly affect the kids. I have it all planned out for the most part and filling in a detail or two as I go along. I am not expecting anybody to like a certain character as that is not what I'm here for. In fact, Nicole is probably one of my least favorite characters on the show. That doesn't mean I am gonna cut her part short. I am doing the best I can with this story, and trust me, this story will end completely different than how the show did. That said, I hope you will stick with me and I promise I will make sure to make it worth the journey.**


	65. Chapter 65

**Disclaimer: This story follows the series.**

Chapter 65

The diner was in between rushes with barely any customers when the phone rang. Luke hurried over and answered it.

"Luke's, this is Luke."

"Hey, Luke," Rebecca greeted on the other line. "It's Rebecca. How are you?"

"Oh, hey," he replied in surprise. "Good. How are you?"

She let out a tired sigh. "Things' been pretty hectic. How's Shelby doing? Sorry I've been scarce the past couple months."

"No problem," he assured her, glad his daughter's aunt is attempting to stay in touch with them. "Shelby's good. About to start soccer next week, actually."

"Oh? What happened to basketball?" Rebecca asked, also in surprise.

"She wanted to do basketball again, but then I reminded her she wanted to try every sport at least once so Shelby thought about it, and decided she wants to give soccer a try. But I think it has something to do with the fact her teacher is coaching soccer this time."

Rebecca laughed. "She must like her teacher this year."

"She does. Her cousin teased it was a crush but Shelby insisted she didn't like him that way." Luke snickered at that. Even though he knew Shelby really did mean it, it was still fun to tease her about it.

"I'm sure my boys would do the same. I swear, I hate having both my nieces far away and not able to see them, regularly. I'm missing so much."

Luke shrugged as he leaned against the back counter, the hand not holding the phone shoved into the pocket of his jeans. "If it makes you feel any better, you see Shelby more often than my sister has seen her. We've been to New York plenty of times over the last month, and she's apparently been busy every single time."

"Well, it's like I said, life can be hectic. I'm sure some time will free up. Like this weekend for example," Rebecca segued the conversation. "We heard the hockey team made it into the semi finals this year. My boys, including my husband, wants to go cheer them on. I thought that would be the perfect opportunity to come visit with Shelby, catch up with her. Maybe actually take her out for lunch. That is, if we've proven ourselves yet. Wink, wink?"

Luke knew what Rebecca was trying to do. "That sounds great, but we actually have plans to go to the zoo that day, then I'm taking her to the game afterwards." It was actually Nicole's idea to go to the zoo. Every so often, on the weekend, they would do something with Shelby. Luke, for some reason, felt weird having to tell the sister of his ex girlfriend that he was dating someone else now.

"Hey, that sounds fun. Maybe we can all go, if that's okay?" she suggested. "I mean, I don't mean to invite myself or anything."

"No, it's okay. We're already going with somebody, though," he admitted somewhat hesitant.

"Oh? Who?"

Luke took in a deep breath. "It's someone I'm dating at the moment."

"Is it...what's her name? Lorelai, I think?"

"What?" he quickly asked, quickly shooting up straight again, shaking his head. "No, no, no. Uh, her name is Nicole. She's one of Taylor's lawyers."

"Funny, I cannot picture you dating a lawyer, much less one of Taylor's. We all know how much you loathe the guy." Rebecca snickered at the guy.

"Nicole is a very nice lady who happens to be on the same page with me on a lot of things." Luke slid his hand behind him in his back pocket this time. "And she seems to really adore Shelby which is a plus in my book."

"I've been with the father of my boys for almost twenty years so I don't know much about dating as a single parent, but that would seem to be one of the top priorities. How long have you been seeing her?"

"Uh, about a month now." Luke then went on to share a few details here and there. It wasn't a lot though. "Shelby's still warming up to her, but seems to like Nicole, back. Shelby has informed me that as long as I'm happy then she's happy."

Rebecca awed at how adorable that was. "Yeah, Shelby's a pretty sweet kid. Not a total brat like her mother was when she was Shelby's age." Both of them chuckled. "Well, we'll probably see you at the game but how about if we visit with Shelby on Sunday before we leave? Would that be alright?"

"Sure, if it's alright with Shelby. Yeah."

"Great. Well, I will see you this weekend, then. Give Shelby a hug and kiss for me."

"Will do," he replied before they both hung up.

Later that evening after the diner was closed for the night, and both Luke and Shelby was showered and changed, Shelby brought her dad his guitar, wanting him to play. So, setting it on his knee, Luke strummed the strings and before long, the two were singing together. Having just lost her front right tooth just two days prior set Shelby back a little in being able to say her sounds, but Miss Kelly started working on a way around that before the other tooth decides to become loose and fall out. Not that having a missing front tooth could stop this kid from wanting to sing, especially with her dad.

Once they finished singing _Life's A Dance_ , Luke shifted his guitar over onto her lap, reminding Shelby of her finger placement.

"I know, Dad. I been practicing on my own," she stated. "Look wha' I can do now." Positioning her fingers correctly, Shelby began playing a song on her own.

Luke listened closely, trying to place the song. It sounded familiar but he wasn't a hundred percent sure. She wasn't going fast paced quite yet and was careful with each note, but Shelby was actually playing a song.

When she finished, Shelby looked up to ask, "Wha' do you think?"

"Uh, that was…," Luke was absolutely speechless. "That was great, Shell. What song was that?"

"You couldn' tell?"

"Well, it sounded familiar," he admitted.

"I' was the _Pokemon_ song. I would lis'en to my CD over and over while trying to play along."

Luke felt himself shake his head, trying to wrap his mind around what his seven-year-old just said. "You learned to play the song just by listening to your CD? On your own?"

Shelby nodded. "I' took a long time bu' I finally did i'."

Wow, it was impressive knowing how gifted Shelby was with music. Of course, she had help from him and Miss Patty with the lessons, but the fact the kid learned a song on her own just by listening to a CD? Luke couldn't help feel proud and told her how proud he was, too.

"I wan' to try the Johto song, too, bu' tha's no' on the CD. So, Jess said we would go hun' one down nex' time we hang ou'."

Luke chuckled. "You sure got your cousin wrapped around your finger, don't ya, kiddo?"

"Wha' does tha' mean?" she asked.

"You can get Jess to do anything you want him to," he explained.

"Well, no' everything."

"Seems like it, at least." Luke leaned back on the couch as Shelby started playing one of the smaller songs he had taught her to play. It was then he decided to bring up her aunt calling that day and asked if she would be interested in hanging out with them on Sunday. Her grandmother had actually been really good with keeping in contact with Shelby, the most, calling at least once a week. It was mostly one-sided, but slowly Shelby was coming to her own with saying words here and there. However, Edna tried to hand off the phone to Lloyd so he could say hello to her. As soon as he would come on, Shelby would get scared and hang up the phone. That's when Luke started to sit in on the phone conversations, as well, having the phone on speaker so the both of them could hear. If only Lloyd wasn't so strict, they might be able to make things work between the two. The kid needed gentleness, not firmness.

Shelby agreed to spending time with Rebecca and her family on Sunday. However, she was most excited for Saturday. Nicole met them at the diner that morning. Shelby wasn't speaking yet but was excited to see the woman. Luke drove them to Connecticut's only zoo in Bridgeport.

The whole time they walked through the park, Luke watched the two interact with each other. He couldn't help smile each time Shelby would point to an animal she was excited to see, wanting Nicole to see as well. She always made sure to come over to make sure her dad could see the animals, too. For the most part, though, the girls seemed to get more enjoyment out of everything than he did.

It had been years since Luke had been to the zoo. Pretty sure his last visit was during the fourth grade when his class went on a field trip. Shelby had gone with her class a few times since she had been with him. Thankfully, the teachers haven't asked him to help chaperone any field trips which he was glad of.

Besides looking at the animals in their habitats, they also sat through a few presentations the zookeepers put on to teach everyone about some of the animals. Shelby sat up front during the reptile presentation and even got to pet a little baby alligator.

"I' looked like Gexie bu' bigger, Dad," she told him in his ear, afterwards.

"Yeah? It looked cool from where we were standing, too," he told her. To him, the presentation sounded boring. If it was interesting to his kid and she was enjoying herself, that's what mattered.

"Shelby," Nicole got her attention while holding the zoo's map, "there's a petting zoo not far from here."

Shelby lit up in excitement as Luke secretly groaned. The thought of touching the animals disgusted him. Plus, he knew it was going to smell awful being around them, as well. As much as he tried to teach Shelby to be hygienic like him, Shelby still enjoyed getting dirty and touching gross things like farm animals.

On the way, they stopped by a couple cheetahs and wild hogs before coming to the petting zoo. Letting the girls have fun, Luke watched from the comfort and safety of the outer part of the pen. Though, a goat did try coming over and saying hello with its teeth, making Luke jump back in surprise. Luckily, it only grabbed ahold of his pants and let go when it startled him, startling the goat in the process.

Shelby had noticed what happened to her dad and giggled over at him as he tried to shoo the goat away. Apparently, it had fallen in love with him or something because it started following him when Luke ended up moving to a different spot.

Even Nicole laughed a little. "Love at first sight, I guess," she said when they finally decided to move on.

Luke was the only one not amused. "Not funny," he insisted.

"I have to disagree on that one. Right, Shelby?" Nicole asked, who nodded with a big grin on her face, showing off her dimples.

Shelby tugged on his shirt to speak into his ear. "Is tha' goa' my new mom?" she asked when he lowered his ear for her, still snickering.

Luke just shot his little buddy a hard stare, knowing exactly where she learned it from.

On the way out at the end of the day, Luke bought a ticket for Shelby to ride the zoo's carousel. Even though it was a long line to ride, a puppy dog look was enough for him to cave. When it was Shelby's turn, she gave the man her ticket before hurrying over to climb onto the lion's back.

Luke and Nicole moved around the closed in gate where they could watch Shelby, who waved over at them. The two adults waved in return.

"Shelby's a great kid," Nicole commented, starting a conversation.

"That she is," he agreed, smiling over at his little buddy.

"I can see how much she looks up to you."

Luke shrugged modestly.

"No, really," Nicole insisted. Both of them were holding onto the top of the gate. With most of the animals taken by children of different ages, the carousel began, playing happy, calming music as it sprung around slowly. "Every time I see her look at you, I see how much she glows."

Luke looked from Nicole, over towards the carousel just as Shelby was passing by, waving once more. He waved back in return. Who would have thought Luke Danes would have somebody looking up to him like he looked up to his own father. "I was the same way when I was her age, I guess," he shrugged once more. "I put that same pressure on my father so it's only fair that pressure gets puts on me."

"In some way, we all try to look up to our fathers." Nicole snickered when Shelby passed by, waving a third time, waving a third time.

"Yeah." Luke was silent as he watched the carousel.

The next time she came around, Shelby had stood up in the stirrups, causing Luke's anxiety to rise, thinking she was going to fall. But Shelby was just fine and soon, the ride was over. Climbing down from the lion, she jumped off the ride and hurried to the exit with everyone else, where Luke and Nicole met her.

"Was that fun?" Nicole asked.

Shelby nodded up at the woman.

Having seen all of the birds and animals, they left the zoo, grabbing a late lunch at a restaurant on the way home. Shelby challenged Nicole to a few games of Tic Tac Toe on the kids' menu, both winning a couple.

On the way out to the truck, Shelby ended up asking Luke, "Can Nicole come with us to the game, tonigh'?"

"I don't know, kiddo. You would have to ask Nicole," he told her.

Nicole overheard. "Ask me, what?"

Shelby turned red in the face, staring at the sidewalk.

Getting down to her level, Nicole leaned her arms on her knees and looked up at the kid. "It's okay, Shelby. You can ask me anything you want."

Holding her hands behind her back, Shelby poked at the sidewalk with the toe of her basketball shoe. Nicole was very patient with her, letting Shelby take all the time she needed to ask. Finally, after a few minutes, she managed to ask her, "Come with us, tonigh'?" Shelby tried to make eye contact but found it difficult.

"Come with you, tonight?" Nicole repeated. "Is that what you said?"

Shelby nodded.

"Where is it you're going?"

Shelby hesitated before she finally was able to say, "To the hockey game."

Luke spoke up about that time for her. Though, it wasn't easy not to speak up for his buddy beforehand. He knew she could which was how he managed not to. "Our town's high school made it to the semi finals for the first time in forty years, and I told Shelby we'd go."

Nicole looked from Luke, back to Shelby. "I would love to come with you if you want me too." She smiled for the kid.

It made Shelby smile in return and nodded her head.

Nicole stood up again as Luke told her the time of the game if she wanted to hang out at the diner until it was time to leave. By the time they got back to Stars Hollow, there was still two and a half hours until the game started.

Shelby ended up wanting to introduce Nicole to Gexie while the time passed. She also asked if Nicole wanted to learn how to play Nintendo, too, hooking up her Nintendo 64 to race on _Mario Kart_ , managing to work up the courage to tell her the controls. Being an adult who had never played a video game, Nicole tried but was good as Luke was. Though, Shelby pointed out she ran into less walls than he did. It was amazing how the two seemed to get along. In fact, Luke decided to head downstairs to check in at the diner and let them have some time alone.

Luke made sure to get to the game right before it started, grabbing a seat on the bleachers near the middle row. Taylor's whole family had come into town to catch the game, as well, though not many others Luke had expected to come, came, considering the whole town couldn't stop talking about it. If it weren't for the fact, he wanted to share one of his other childhood sports with his daughter, Luke wouldn't have bothered on coming, himself.

Shelby sat in between her dad and Nicole, looking around. She patted Luke on the arm, who lowered his head. "They le' Kirk be the announcer?" she questioned with a puzzled look.

"Well, you know Kirk," he reminded her, knowing the guy had like several dozens of jobs in that town.

About that time, Rebecca and her family walked up. She called up to them to get their attention, waving.

Luke waved back before Shelby asked if she could go say hello. She stood up, squeezing past Nicole and carefully stepped down the bleachers. He made sure to keep an eye on her.

Nicole asked, curious, "Who's that?"

"Shelby's aunt and her family. Her mom's sister," he quickly added. "They came into town for the game."

"Uh huh," she replied, nodding while looking over there as Shelby was lifted up by her uncle. "That's nice they still keep in touch with her."

Luke nodded. "Rebecca's always been the more rooted and sensible than her sister." Once each of the boys had their turn greeting their little cousin, Rebecca reached up on her toes to give Shelby a kiss on the cheek, rubbing an affectionate hand across her back over her sweatshirt. It was then he noticed Shelby point up towards him, and Rebecca and Mike looked up in his direction. Both of them waved.

Mike eventually set Shelby down on her feet. The whole family then followed the little girl up into the stands coming to say hello.

They greeted Luke who introduced them to Nicole.

"Hello," she returned the greeting, shaking both Rebecca and Mike's hands.

"It's nice to meet you," Rebecca smiled.

Shelby had returned to her own seat.

Of course, Mike had to point out, "I gotta tell ya, Luke. I figured you'd end up with that lady friend of yours we saw at Thanksgiving. You two seemed more…" Thankfully, Rebecca elbowed him hard in the stomach, telling him to shut it, and flicked Kenneth in the side of the head for joining in.

Luke couldn't help stare downward, rubbing the back of his neck. He could feel Nicole glance at him for a brief moment, feeling some awkward tension.

"Well, we should probably find some place to sit," Rebecca suggested, letting the three of them be alone, now that two of her boys put their foots in their mouths. "Shelby, we'll see you in the morning, okay?"

Shelby nodded up at her aunt.

Afterwards, they left.

The game started around seven with Miss Patty and Babette singing the National Anthem. Once they finished and the crowd took their seats, Shelby patted her dad's arm again, pointing out Rory who had just came in. His eyebrows rose knowing the Gilmores weren't into sports anymore than Jess was. Plus, Luke remembered Jess had stated he and Rory had plans that night once Jess got off work. But Rory seemed to be alone until he noticed Lane sitting there with some guy holding a cell phone attached to his ear. In fact, every time Luke happened to glance over at the teens, the phone would still be out.

The game ended up being very one-sided with the other team scoring all of the goals. Even Shelby admitted how sad it was. At one point, though, after listening to Kirk's endless yammering of what was supposed to be actual hockey dialogue, she stood up to head down there.

Luke stopped her to ask, "Where are you going?"

"To save Kirk's bu'." Shelby pointed down at the guy. "I promise I will be righ' back."

Giving the say with a nod, he let her go, telling her to stay within eyesight. Luke watched Shelby carefully scoot pass everyone and down the bleachers over to Kirk. She patted his leg and whispered something in his ear when he lowered it. When Shelby started to head back to their seat, Kirk announced he was taking a short break. Once she returned to her seat, Luke asked what she told him.

"I told him to cool i' for a while before somebody kicks his bu'," she replied, adding that she had noticed some of the players kept glaring over at Kirk. It looked like Luke wasn't the only one looking out for the poor guy, anymore. Luke smiled as he wrapped an arm around his little buddy.

Dean, who was in the game, managed to score a point for the Minutemen, but of course, it wasn't enough for them to win the game. Everyone ended up leaving the ice arena bummed out at the loss.

"Well, that was something," Nicole stated once they got outside, trying to sound positive.

"Who are you kidding? That was lousy," Luke replied in honesty. They were headed for where he parked his truck. That's when they heard Rebecca, calling out as she came over.

"Hey. So, you guys enjoy the game?" she asked once Rebecca caught up to them.

Luke pointed down at Shelby. "Caught this one sneaking some play time on her GameBoy. I had no clue she even brought it."

Rebecca touched a hand to the top of her niece's head. "Wasn't interested in it, huh?" She smiled at the little girl.

Shelby shook her head.

"We'll be by the diner around ten-thirty." She looked up at Luke afterwards. "That sound reasonable?"

"Sure," he replied. "As long as our deal still stands, I'm okay with it."

Rebecca assured him, she was still in their agreement. Waving good-bye, she then turned to head for where they were parked.

Luke, Nicole, and Shelby got back to the diner where Nicole took off for home, shortly afterwards, grabbing a coffee for the road. Since Caesar already cleaned up, Luke sent him home and closed for the night.

"So, not a hockey fan, huh?" Luke finally said as they made their way up the stairs to the apartment.

"I' was okay," Shelby shrugged.

"But no interest in playing?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Dad."

Luke smiled. "It's okay, Shell. You don't have to like everything I like." He opened the door, unlocking it first and turned on the light. Jess wasn't home yet.

Shelby had dashed over to the phone. "Dad, we have a me'sage. Can I play i'?"

"Sure, kiddo." He dropped down onto his bed to remove his shoes before heading into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. With the door shut Luke could faintly hear the answering machine's female automated voice stating they had one new message and then Rory's voice shortly afterwards, sounding annoyed and upset. The toilet flushing and the sink faucet drowned out part of the message, catching the tail end when Rory added that it was a message for Jess which Luke already could guess it was for him.

Shelby was holding onto the edge of the desk, listening. "Rory sounds mad," she said once the message was done.

"Just leave it and I'll let Jess know she called," he told her. From the sound of it, Jess' hectic schedule was taking a toll on the young couple's relationship. However, Rory's message seemed to also take a toll on Shelby, who now looked unhappy. "Come on, kiddo. Let's get ready for bed." Luke let Shelby shower first, grabbing some pajamas for when she was finished.

Some time in the middle of the night, Luke partly awoke to hear Shelby whisper something out loud, guessing Jess had finally gotten home, glancing through half closed eyes at the time on his night stand. He heard Jess ask how her day was which she told him was a lot of fun. Luke then heard Shelby tell him about the message Rory had left.

"She sounded mad. Are you guys in a figh'?"

"No, not that I know of. She did tell me to delete it without listening, so don't worry about it. Okay, Scout?"

"Okay. Bu', Jess."

"Yeah?"

"If you need to, you and I don' have to hang out anymore. Rory can have our time."

"That's nice of ya, Scout. But there's no way I'd leave out my best girl," he assured her.

"Bu' wha' abou' Rory? I don' wan' you to break up."

"I said don't worry about it. Rory and I will settle this. Okay?" Jess' tone sounded a little stern but kept some gentleness to it.

There was a long silence.

"Okay?" he repeated.

Shelby finally answered. "Okay."

"Go to sleep, alright?" he ordered of his cousin, gently.

"Good night, Jess."

"Night, Scout." After that, things got quiet again as Jess quickly changed and headed to bed, himself.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Just a quick note. In case you missed it, I uploaded a little short story about Lorelai having another daughter if you want to check it out. It takes place right before season one. I'm not doing anything with it. It was just an idea I had and needed to get out my head. Other than that, that's about it. Sorry if I sounded like a jerk in my author's note, last chapter. It was mostly from the frustrations. Thanks for hanging in there with me, though! :) Anybody can always approach me via PM if you want to discuss anything. I'm easy to talk to.**

 **Also, one last note for just the guest reviewer, "Nancy". You said you assumed Emily was the culprit of the cause of the fight. If you go back to the episode chapter 64 is based off of, "Swan Song", Emily was actually really good about the whole situation (at least until Lorelai called and shared her opinions then). But yeah, Rory and Jess got into the fight because Rory kept pushing Jess to talk about his black eye. Emily does have her good moments, sometimes.**


	66. Chapter 66

**Disclaimer: This story follows the series with minor changes.**

Chapter 66

Shelby had Sunday brunch with her aunt and uncle and cousins at the diner per the deal. The boys wanted to help introduce their cousin to the basics of soccer so they begged Luke to let them take Shelby for a couple hours. Since Jess had gone off to run some errands, Luke couldn't send him this time. Rebecca assured him though, nothing was going to happen and that no one was going to bring up Rachel. It took a lot to get him say yes. It did help when Luke asked Shelby what she thought of going to the park with them, alone and said she didn't mind and admitted she wanted to go. So, he let them take her. It made him a nervous wreck for sure but then what didn't? Thankfully, it worked out well and Shelby had a great time, learning the basics of soccer. They had to go to the sporting goods store for a soccer ball which the boys let Shelby keep, thus gaining another new ball. They even helped Luke out and got her a pair of socks, shin guards, and soccer cleats which was what Luke needed to get anyway.

Her first practice ended up being on Tuesday, a couple hours after Shelby got home from school. Leaving Caesar and Jess in charge, Luke and Shelby drove over to where the practices and games were being held, parking beside the field. The minute Shelby spotted her teacher, she dashed over to him.

Instead of sitting with the soccer moms, Luke decided to turn his truck around and park backwards, sitting on the tailgate to watch.

Mr. Harris had the kids introduce themselves first before starting some stretches and warm-ups, then taught them some drills, starting with the basics. The first time the kids took a water break, Luke had to whistle to her to grab her attention and waved Shelby over when she found him. Shelby hurried over to take the water bottle they brought with them.

"Doing great out there, kiddo," he praised, passing her the water bottle.

Shelby took a long drink before thanking her dad.

"You like it so far?"

She gave a quick shrug. "It's okay."

"Well, just remember our deal. Stick through the season, then you won't have to play again if you don't want to. Gotta see things through until the end without quitting," Luke reminded her.

Shelby nodded. "Okay, Dad."

"Besides, you can use this as practice for basketball. You know, like moving around the court and passing, and stuff like that."

Her eyebrows rose at that. "This can help me with bas'i'ball?" she asked in surprise.

"Sure, you bet. There's some similarities between the two," he said.

That got her excited once again. Once Shelby had her fill, she handed the water bottle back to him and Luke told her to hustle back to her team.

This time around, there were a few other girls besides Shelby, on her team, instead of just boys. Any time Mr. Harris asked for a volunteer to help demonstrate a drill or move, Shelby would raise her hand to volunteer, jumping up when he called on her. She still didn't say anything, but was a good little assistant, trying her best.

While the practice continued, one of the soccer moms came over to Luke. The mom really looked the part, too. Down to the jogging suit to the fancy, white-framed sunglasses on top of her head. She also wore Nikes tennis shoes.

"Luke Danes, right?"

Luke stood up from the tailgate to shake her hand. "That's right." He then pointed out his kid as the one with the backwards baseball cap.

She smiled, sweetly. "I kind of figured she was yours. Just a hunch." The woman gave him a friendly wink. "I'm Caitlyn Hudson. Mine is Jacob," she pointed over to a boy with short, light brown hair. "He's the one with the freckles all over his face."

Luke looked over, spotting the kid. "Okay," he replied.

"I was just going around meeting all of the parents, making sure everyone signs up," Caitlyn got right down to it.

He stared at the soccer mom, confused. "Sign up for what?"

"To bring the snack, of course." _She says like I should know this._ "There are twelve kids and twelve games so each game, a parent is required to bring some kind of snack along with a drink. No soda or anything high in sugar, please. We don't need a bunch of seven-year-olds bouncing off the walls." Caitlyn laughed as if she had said a joke.

"I limit the soda and sugar my own kid has, anyway," he shrugged off and tried to go along with the joke. "I would prefer not having one kid not bouncing off the walls."

"Perfect. So which game would you like to have?" Caitlyn handed him a clipboard with a list of the games and a space to sign his name next to. Luke took it, looking the list over. "If you, for whatever reason, are unable to make the game you pick, please call me the night before, and I can bring something for the kids for you. Otherwise, they won't have anything."

He glanced up at her from the clipboard.

"I'll make sure there's a contact list when the uniforms are passed out at the next practice on Thursday," she assured him.

Since he seemed to be one of the last ones who hadn't chosen a game yet, Luke had to choose one of the later games in the season. He decided to go with the first game in May, signing his name before passing the clipboard back to Caitlyn, who thanked him.

"And I will also make up a calendar as a reminder to everyone which day is theirs. As a parent, we all have a thousands things to remember at once. So, it's easier to have a calendar to put on the fridge to remind us."

"Sure," he replied, hoping this conversation would soon end.

"Well, it was nice talking with you, Luke." Caitlyn shook his hand one last time before turning to leave. Once she was gone, Luke turned back to the practice, sitting back down on the tailgate. So, guess he was going to have to figure out what to bring for a dozen little kids as a snack. At least he had a couple months to think about it.

The practice went on for about an hour until the kids were dismissed. Shelby hurried over to her dad once again.

"Hey, kiddo. What do you think overall now?" Luke asked, passing the water bottle.

"Be'ter. Did you see I was helping Mister...I mean Coach Harris?"

"Yeah, good job volunteering out there," he praised.

She smiled brightly at the praise.

Thursday's practice was a few more drills before playing a scrimmage game for the rest of the time. Shelby ended up being on the team who had to wear the netted shirts on over their clothes to tell the teams apart. The kids did good but still had a lot to learn. It was only the first week, though.

The second practice ended up going for an extra fifteen minutes while the uniforms and schedules were passed out. This time, Shelby's team color was red so the shirts were all red with a black trim around the bottoms of the sleeves and around the collar that were V-shaped, and had three lines going down the tops of the sleeves as well. The uniforms also came with black soccer shorts.

"Don't forget, parents," Mr. Harris called out once the uniforms were all passed out, catching them before everyone left. "Our first game is right here at nine AM. Please be here at least thirty minutes early to have the kids warm up before we play." With that said, the kids were dismissed.

Luke let Shelby climb in on his side, sliding in once she had scooted over. "You ready for your first game on Saturday?" he asked once starting the truck. Since Luke was already facing outward as he had done during the first practice, it was easier pulling out of the parking lot.

"I hope so. Coach Harris told us to be thinking abou' wha' to name our team," she said. Her uniform and everything were on the seat between them.

"What are you thinking? If it were up to you, what would you name your team?"

Shelby looked up towards the ceiling of the truck as if to ponder on the question. "The firebol's, like Harry Po'ter's broom'tick."

"Why?" Luke questioned.

She shrugged. "I think i' sounds cool." Things went quiet for a few minutes before Shelby broke it again. "Um, Dad?"

"Yeah?" he acknowledged her, glancing out of the corner of his eye as Luke drove.

"Can Nicole come on Sa'urday?"

"You would have to ask her, but sure if she wants to," he shrugged. "Are you gonna invite Lorelai and Rory?"

To his surprise, Shelby shrugged. "Sure, if they wan' to come."

Luke stared over at the kid for a brief moment, quickly returning his gaze to the road ahead. "But you usually want Lorelai and Rory to come to your games."

"Yeah, bu' I know they don' like sports. Jess don' have to come either. I know they like to spend time with each other alone." Luke couldn't help think back to the cousins' conversation he partly overheard. The next morning after that night, Luke hadn't been sure if he had been dreaming or not.

"I mean, I'm sure if you ask them, they'll come to your game. Lorelai and Rory seem to enjoy watching you play at least and Rory did go to the hockey game, remember?" he reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, they can come," she nodded her head.

They didn't see the Gilmores until the next morning when they came for breakfast. By this point, Luke had made up new menus, adding a few more items than before. Most importantly, salads, recommended by Nicole. Both Lorelai and Rory, and Lane who joined in the fun, of course gave him a hard time about it, teasing him how Nicole had him menu-whipped which he irrabley argued against. When he eventually got the old menus out to satisfy Lorelai, she still gave him a hard time with everyone having a new menu and not her. Luke just walked away slowly without saying another word. It was a wonder the guy didn't have high blood pressure at this point.

"Tha' was mean," he overheard Shelby scold Lorelai, interrupting the laughter.

"What? We were just poking fun at him," Lorelai assured the little girl with one last snicker.

"I's 'till mean." She then turned and stated only Rory and Lane were allowed to come to her first soccer game on Saturday.

Lorelai let out a fake gasp. "How come I can't go?" she asked, hurt.

"Because you were mean to my dad."

"But I wasn't picking on him to be mean. You know I wouldn't intentionally do anything mean to him on purpose," she reminded Shelby, sincerely.

"Bu' i' was," Shelby argued as if she too was hurt by all this.

"Okay. Would you like for me to apologize, sweetheart?"

"To Dad? Yes, please."

"Okay." Lorelai stood up and wandered over to where Luke was standing at the counter. "Luke, I would like to say I am sorry for teasing you about the menus." She tried to be sincere as possible while keeping a straight face.

He thanked her for the apology and for the effort, but wasn't sure why Shelby was upset over this when she was usually joining in the fun of picking on him, laughing along with them.

Lorelai turned back to Shelby. "Is that better?" she asked in a better sincere voice for Shelby.

She nodded.

"So, does that mean I can come to your game tomorrow?"

That time, Shelby thought on it before agreeing. "Yes you may," she nodded once.

Lorelai kneeled to her level. "How come you were upset with me picking on your dad?" she asked with curiosity. "You never got upset before."

Shelby held her hands behind her back, staring at the floor.

"Hm?" Lorelai ducked her head to meet the little girl's eyes. Shelby started to chew on her lip. "What's going on, sweetie?"

"I...I jus' don' like you picking on Dad, anymore," she just shrugged it off. "A' leas' no' too much."

"But, it's fun," she snickered.

"No' fun for Dad," Shelby pointed out, making Luke smile at what he was doing.

"Okay, I'll try and ease up on your dad," Lorelai reluctantly gave in. "It'll be hard, but I will try my best."

Shelby thanked her, politely.

"Can I have a hug?" she asked.

Shelby nodded and gave Lorelai a hug.

The following morning, Shelby had to be up, bright and early for the first game of the season. Luke made sure she had a well balanced breakfast before getting dressed in her uniform, helping her with her socks and shin guards.

"Dad."

"Hm?"

"Did you play soccer when you were a kid?" she asked curious.

"Nope," he replied. "Only baseball and hockey. Then later, in high school, I did track." Luke nodded his head over towards his trophies that now shared space with his kid's t-ball and basketball participation trophies.

"How come you didn' try other spor's? You didn' wan' to?"

Luke just shrugged as he pulled the last sock up over her shin guard. "Just wasn't interested in any other sport."

"Oh, okay." She accepted the answer. "I like baseball and bas'i'ball."

"That's good, kiddo," he told her with a smile. Luke got her cleats ready, loosening the laces so Shelby could get her feet inside. They finished getting ready so they could leave on time for the game.

Luke had to ask for Shelby if Nicole wanted to come since he picked her up for their date. Nicole was happy to come cheer Shelby on, and told him, she'd meet them there. Having worked late the night before, Jess got out of going, but promised he would catch at least one game sometime during the season when he got the puppy dog face that made him squirm.

Of course, Shelby still had her usual cheering squad that has come to most of her t-ball and basketball games, sitting on the sidelines with the soccer moms. Having no bleachers to sit on, everyone either brought blankets or folding chairs while the kids sat in the grass until the coaches swapped them in with another player to give everyone a chance to play.

Luke continued to sit back alone on the tailgate.

"Not interested in sitting with the other parents, I see?" Nicole asked, sitting with him. He had made sure to put down a blanket to sit on, instead of directly on the tailgate.

"Not particularly fond of hearing about the latest soccer mom gossip," he stated. "I mean, who cares if Susan changed her hair style. It's not hurting you so why do you have to think something's wrong at home? It's none of your business, am I right? Maybe Susan just wanted something fresh and new."

Nicole nodded in agreement. "I can see where that can be annoying."

" _I_ can see why the husbands would rather be home watching the game. It's not that they don't care about their kids' game. They just want to be as far away from the petty gossip as possible." Luke quickly realized he was ranting again. He looked up in time to see Coach Harris switching Shelby in the game, and cheered her on, clapping for her. "Sorry," he said after a minute.

"For?"

"Well, you know. I tend to go off on rants," he explained. "I wasn't sure if that was a problem or not."

Instead of confirming it, Nicole just laughed. "I think it's cute. And you're right. Gossip's a waste of time, especially when they should be here supporting their child, not shooting the breeze about petty things."

That made Luke smile a little. This lady kept surprising him.

The kids' soccer game continued with the teams switching sides halfway through. Shelby's team ended up agreeing on being called the Red Rebels. It was a close game but the Yellow Jackets ended up being victorious over the Red Rebels, at the end.

When Shelby came over after grabbing her after game snack, Luke was able to get a better look at the state of her uniform and all of the grass stains. The side of her right leg was also skinned up a little where he remembered seeing her slide for the ball. By this point, the kid didn't mind a little pain and blood. It still made Luke squirm, though.

"You did good out there, Shelby," Nicole praised first as Luke passed the water bottle.

Shelby thanked her. "And thank you for coming," she also added.

"No problem. I've never been to a soccer game before so it was a treat to experience my first time at your soccer game."

"I's my first soccer game, too," Shelby stated with excitement. It was a surprise to see the kid freely talking to Nicole on her own. However, Shelby must have realized it too as they continued, and ended up muting herself after that. Nicole didn't say anything about it and went along with it. It just showed how Shelby was starting to become comfortable around the woman.

After the game, Luke made the mistake of offering to let the players and their parents come by the diner to celebrate their first game. The diner was full of loud seven-year-olds and the gossiping soccer moms. He did slip an extra refill of coffee for the husbands who had come along, giving them his deepest sympathies. He did get into a heavy discussion about baseball with a few of the husbands so it wasn't all bad.

Luke had survived his first week of pee wee soccer. Now there was just eleven more weeks to go.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I keep forgetting to mention this about Mr. Harris' character. If you're familiar with the TV show,** _The New Adventures of Old Christine_ **, that's where I stole him from (yeah, that didn't sound creepy at all). Funny, that's also where I know Nicole's actress from.**

 **Also, if this story suddenly disappears from off this site, it'll still be available over on Wattpad. I upload over there as well and will continue uploading this story over there. _Healing Love_ is also available over there, too. **


	67. Chapter 67

**Disclaimer: This story follows the series.**

* * *

 **Reloading because I'm afraid this chapter may have been getting missed and only reading chapter 68.**

* * *

Chapter 67

Over the next week Shelby continued to practice and try to improve at playing soccer, even going as far as bringing her ball to school with her and kicking it back and forth between her and the twins. Shelby seemed to be enjoying the sport. It wasn't her favorite sport or anything, but it was still fun play and try out, and the twins loved kicking the ball round, making up games they could play with the soccer ball.

However, Shelby wasn't the only one seemed to be doing great. At first glance anyway. Grabbing the mail one evening at the end of the night after closing up the diner, Luke noticed a letter addressed to the family of Jess Mariano from Wal-Mart. Curious, he tore it open and read what was inside. His eyebrows rose as Luke saw that Jess, his nephew, had been chosen employee of the month. In fact, the guy couldn't help feel like a proud uncle. Though, it seemed small next to finding out Rory had been accepted into Harvard, Princeton, and Yale which led to a very awkward hug between her and Luke.

Lorelai assured Luke, Jess receiving employee of the month wasn't small at all and told him he should be proud, asking if he was planning. Luke tried to wave it off, stating the embarrassment would kill Jess, but couldn't deny that Luke was indeed going. That was his nephew after all. Shelby also wanted to go too when she found out about it. Luke told her to keep it between them so they could surprise Jess when they arrived. Mostly because Jess would probably try and talk his uncle and cousin out of going.

Picking Shelby up from school on the way there, Luke headed for the branch Jess worked at, asking an associate for directions where the small ceremony was being held. Quietly, they snuck in while the manager had already started, slipping in where there was an empty seat in the back. Since there was only one chair, Luke let Shelby sit on his leg, who waved excitedly when she saw Jess standing up front, leaning against the wall with his arms causally folded.

Luke couldn't help smile, glowing with pride as the manager talked highly of him. Everyone clapped when the manager called Jess over. Of course he refused to say anything when the manager asked him if Jess wanted to say any words. Because of that, the ceremony was brought to an end, dismissing everyone to work.

Jess immediately headed over to his uncle and cousin, who stood up with the rest. When he was close, Shelby tackled him, hugging her cousin around the waist. "What are you two doing here?" he quietly demanded of his uncle, as if he was embarrassed.

Luke answered by grabbing a hold of his nephew's cheek, stating, "I'm so proud of my boy."

Jess shook him off. "Stop it," he warned, annoyed.

Shelby had also stepped backwards. "I'm proud of you too, Jess," she told him.

"Do you have a tissue?" Luke continued. "Because I think I'm gonna be emotional."

"I mean it," he pressed. "Stop. Now. It came with cash, which is the only reason I'm here."

"Don't forget the plaque. You should hang that over your bed, shine a little spotlight over it."

Jess just rolled his eyes. "I gotta get back to work," he said, and walked away. Luke started to continue his fun with his nephew until Shelby interrupted him, reminding her dad to be nice or he was grounded.

"Hey, who's the parent here?" he also reminded her.

She folded her arms as she gave him a stern look that basically said, _Not you right now._ They were interrupted by the manager, who had wandered over to them.

"Hey," he greeted. "I saw you jawboning with our boy, there." The manager pointed after Jess. "I'm Bill Borden."

Luke shook his hand. "Luke Danes. I'm Jess' uncle, and this is his cousin, Shelby."

"Nice meetin' ya," he replied, nodding between them.

"Yeah. So, he's doing good, huh?"

"Wish I had a dozen more Jesses. He's my go-to guy."

"That's great to hear," Luke nodded in proudness.

"He works like a dog on his regular shift, and if someone calls in sick, and they always do," the manager laughed. "Jess is there even if he's already done forty hours that week."

"Wow," Luke shook his head at the floor in disbelief. "I am so…" But then it dawned on him what the manager just said and stared up at him. "Forty hours? He never works forty hours."

"More like forty-five," the manager nodded in agreement. "That's what I'm saying." He looked down at his clipboard. "Good boy that one."

"Wait, how's that possible?" he questioned. "He's got school, he works for me. It can't be forty."

The manager just stared at him. "Well, I can't say I sign every time card," he shrugged. "But I'm pretty sure it's at least that."

Luke stared out the corner of his eye in a daze.

The guy shook his head as he said, "Maybe I'm mistaken."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Oh," the manager held up the employee of the month photo of Jess, offering it to Luke. "Little keepsake for you."

Luke thanked him before the manager walked away. He then stared at it, still confused. The only possibilities were, the manager had him confused with someone else or… No way. Jess couldn't have been cutting school. That wasn't the agreement they had in order for Jess to live with them. He wouldn't risk that...would he?

Later that night, Nicole swung by for the Edgar Allan Poe reading that a group of people passing through was putting on for anyone willing to sit through it. To his horror, there ended up being two readings of _The Raven_. Luke just about wanted to pass out from tiredness and boredom. Though, he couldn't help notice there was some tension after Lorelai asked him for a pen as if he carried pens around with him wherever he went. Nicole offered to let her borrow a pen.

After the reading, they ended up running into one of Luke's employees, John. Exchanging good nights with Nicole, Luke had a word with John, who let him know everything was put up and the diner was locked up for the night. Since Luke would be across the street at Miss Patty's, he had agreed to let Shelby be upstairs alone since John would be working downstairs for most of the time.

As Luke was finishing up with John, he waved over to Lorelai when their glances met. Eventually, he wandered over when they were finished with their conversations.

"So, how was Jess' employee of the month thing?" she asked as they started walking towards the diner.

"It was okay," Luke replied.

"Just okay?"

"There was punch," he stated, sarcastically.

"So, the punch wasn't good?"

Luke replied with a "no," whiling letting out a small chuckle. "The manager came up afterwards when Jess was gone, and he was talking about how Jess is working forty, forty-five hours a week."

Lorelai immediately looked at him, just as confused as he was. "What? That's full time."

"That's what I said," he agreed.

She forced a laugh. "How does he swing it?"

"He must be pulling double shifts on the weekends. That's all I can think of."

"No, he's pretty much duding it with Rory on the weekends."

"I figured he could be getting up super early weekday mornings until I remembered he takes Shelby to school for me. But then again, Shell's been riding her bike to school so maybe he is," Luke guessed.

"Have you seen him do that since Shelby's been riding her bike?"

"No, but I don't trail him either."

"Yeah, but you sleep in the same room with him, and Shelby sleeps right above him. Does Shelby know anything about it?"

"No, she's as clueless as me," he shrugged. "The manager must be getting Jess confused with somebody else."

"Or…"

"Or, what?" Luke questioned, already knowing what she was going to say.

Lorelai sighed, shaking her head. "I don't wanna say."

Luke egged her on. "No, say it. Go ahead."

With another sigh, she turned to fully face him. "Or, he's working when he should be in school."

Luke stubbornly shook his head, denying it. "Impossible. No way."

"Why?"

"Because he knows the rules. He's gotta graduate to stay living with us." Luke nodded his head, trying to convince himself. "He's going. He's getting everything done. He's doing his work."

"You've seen this work he's doing?" she questioned.

"Not for a while, but I just know that he is."

Lorelai just nodded at the ground with a knowing look.

Luke quickly added, "Nope, no way he's cutting school. It's suicide. No way."

"I shouldn't have brought it up," she apologized.

"Ah, it's okay," he assured her, briefly touching her arm before looking away at the ground.

"Okay."

"I should probably go check on my kid. First time home alone and it's kind of freaking me out." Luke pointed up towards his apartment.

"Wow, how did she manage to swing that out of you?" Lorelai asked in surprise.

"Well, I figured since I'd be right across the street, John's downstairs, and we live in a fairly small town where nothing really happens, we'd give it shot. I'm sure Shelby's probably up there playing Nintendo, not even realizing I've been gone for this long." Luke was playing it cool but on the inside he was freaking out.

"You hate it, don't ya?"

"What? Hate what?"

"The fact Shelby's growing up and is starting to be okay with being on her own without you nearby." Of course she figures him out.

Luke let out a sigh. "The thought of it is killing me. At the same time, though, I'm proud," he added with a shrug.

"Don't worry. I felt the same way when Rory spent her first time home alone. It gets easier, trust me," she assured him.

"I know." He totally lied but it was a nice comfort. Or, so he hoped it would. "Can't believe she's about a quarter of the way to being eight. You know that?"

"I know," Lorelai agreed. "I remember when she was that quiet five-year-old hiding behind your leg. Now, she's singing at town meetings and going off by herself either on her bike or scooter. My, where has the time gone?" She smiled, chuckling a little.

Luke returned the smile. The kid sure has come a long way since this whole being a parent thing began.

Exchanging good nights, Lorelai took off, heading for her house while Luke unlocked the door to the diner, locking it back once he was inside, and headed for upstairs. Surprisingly, he didn't hear Mario or Luigi when Luke got up there. In fact, the cable was switched on with Shelby watching Reba's show while sitting on her legs at the coffee table, with a pencil in her hand. "Not playing your game anymore?"

"No," she shook her head, looking up from her writing. "The ghos' I was trying to catch kep' kicking my bu', so I 'topped to work on my book repor' tha's due Friday."

Luke had wandered over, looking over her at the notebook open in front of her on the coffee table. Leaning over, he gave Shelby a kiss underneath where her hat wasn't covering. At least he knew for sure one of his charges were getting their schoolwork done. Since it was late, Luke suggested she'd shower and get ready for bed since it was a school night. Putting everything away in her backpack, Shelby zipped it closed and went to grab her pajamas first, asking how the "Poe thing" went as she called it.

Luke was caught way off guard when his diner ended up being invaded and taken over by Lorelai and Sookie, along with their whole kitchen crew because of the inn catching fire, the next morning. Luke wasn't fond of _his_ place being taken over, but passed the baton anyway. He also found out he had been out of the loop that Sookie was pregnant when she got on him for calling her "cracked."

Upstairs, Shelby was fully dressed, pouring herself a bowl of cereal.

"Just about ready for school, kiddo?" he asked, shutting the door behind him.

"Yeah, bu' how come Lor-lai and Sue-key was leading an army into the diner?" she asked.

"I guess the inn caught fire, early this morning, and they need someplace to serve the guests."

A frightened look suddenly appeared on the kid's face. "Is everyone okay, Dad?"

"Yeah, everyone's fine," he assured her.

Shelby seemed a little better. "So the inn is gone?"

"No, I'm sure their insurance can help them rebuild everything," he assured her, and told her to eat so Shelby wouldn't be late for school.

Shelby felt she had to add, "Like Fawkes the phoenix in _Harry Po'ter_. When he was reborn from his ashes."

"Uh, yeah. Kind of like that." Luke went over to grab a bowl and poured himself some cereal. It had been a while since he was able to sit and have breakfast with his little buddy anyway, so Luke took the opportunity, asking her if she knew what the plans her teacher had for her class that day. Apparently, art was the special today, and stated how excited she was because they would be able to continue working on their art project from last week where they had to color a pattern of squares on a piece of paper with a design. Luke also asked if Shelby had known Sookie was going to have a baby, or not. Thankfully, his own kid was out of the loop like he was.

After they finished with breakfast, Luke helped carry her bike downstairs, making sure the tires had enough air. On the way out, he ended up bombarded with little kids, asking him to put on a sock puppet show for them.

"Why on earth would I do that?" he demanded, annoyed, holding the bike under his arm.

"Because the lady said you would," one of the boys told him. Luke already could guess who told them he would put on a sock puppet show.

"Look, kids, I'm busy at the moment. I gotta get my own kid off to school, plus a lot of other grown up things…" There was an union of "awww" which caused him to groan. They asked again though, only louder this time. Luke let out an annoyed sigh towards the ceiling.

Shelby tapped his arm to get his attention. Lowering his ear, she whispered, "they can play with my toys up'tairs if they promise to be careful and no' take nothing."

"Are you sure, Shell?" Luke wasn't really fond of strange kids upstairs in their apartment. But then, he did have some bills and stuff for the diner to work on up there. So, when Shelby nodded, giving the okay, he turned back to the other kids. "Shelby, here says, if you're careful and promise not to take anything, you can go upstairs and play with her toys." The moment he finished that sentence, the kids cheered and immediately ran around him to head upstairs. Luke tried to call after them to wait for him, but once a kid hears the word toys, that's pretty much it.

Quickly taking the bike outside, he kissed Shelby good-bye, telling her to have a great day at school, be safe, and all of the usual stuff he tells her, all in one breath, before rushing back inside, hurrying upstairs to supervise the other kids before _his_ place caught fire.

"Listen. I want the toys picked up when you are finished playing with one," he tried laying down the law. "I want nothing left out and untouched. Got it?" Luke made each kid respond. Unfortunately, being in a room with other people's kids made it hard to concentrate on his work and hoped their parents would come get them soon.

Why hadn't he had Shelby play hooky from school just for today to help entertain these kids?


	68. Chapter 68

**Disclaimer: This story follows the series.**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Chapter 67 came out too long so I had to split it up into two. That's why there is a double update. Make sure you have read 67 before you read this one. It's the one Luke and Shelby go to Jess'employee of the month ceremony.**

* * *

Chapter 68

It wasn't for another several hours when lunch time rolled around did they finally leave, and not one kid cleaned up after themselves. Letting out another annoyed sigh as he stood there with his hands on his sides, Luke then headed over to pick up the toys, also making sure the kids at least kept their word at not breaking anything. He would have to wait until Shelby got home to see if anything was taken. From what he could see and remember, nothing seemed like it was missing. A lot of her dinosaurs and _Pokemon_ figures were there. The kid had plenty of Legos that was now scattered all over the place. Luke was sure him, Shelby, and Jess would probably be painfully finding the rest of the pieces over the next coming weeks. It was nice of Shelby to share her toys, but Luke would like to kill Lorelai for sending the kids his way (not literally, of course). It was still quite irritating she had done that when she knew how he felt about other people's kids.

Once the toys were all picked up, Luke went over to check in on Gexie, making sure she was alright. "Hey, Gexie. Doing alright?" he asked of the gecko, who was hiding in her hide. Surprisingly, she stuck her head out. Though, she usually slept during the day, Gexie had been known to be awake too.

"I know, huh?" he nodded. "How can anybody get any sleep with those little terrors running around, am I right?" There was no response, of course. Luke stood up, realizing he was talking to his daughter's pet gecko, who had slowly grown on the guy. As long as they kept her tank clean, Gexie wasn't bad at all. Since they used dead crickets, there indeed wasn't any smell to her. Every once in a while she'd make a noise but for the most part, Gexie was quiet. Like Shelby was, sometimes. So, guess they matched the two up perfectly. Luke had picked up a book on leopard geckos from the book store just to be on the safe side, in case a problem arose. In fact, there was even the number to the town's vet on the fridge with the number to their own doctor, like Gexie was a member of the family now or something. If somebody had told Luke several years ago he would have a gecko as a family member, he would probably laugh at them.

When Shelby finally pulled up to the diner on her bike, Luke rushed out and squeezed her tight, glad to have his calm and quiet kid home. Thankfully, the other kids went off with their families for the afternoon so he had some peace and quiet the rest of the day.

"I had to pick up after them but everything looked like they were in one piece," he assured her as they climbed the stairs as Luke carried her bike upstairs. With Sookie still in control of the diner, he and Shelby headed for her soccer practice, getting back in time for the dinner rush. The inn's kitchen staff even helped clean up at the end of the night for him.

Showered and changed into pajamas, Luke let Shelby play her GameCube before bed, watching her play her _Super Mario Sunshine_ game. It was very odd Nintendo was making games for kids that entailed cleaning. Luigi using a vacuum in his game to suck up objects and ghosts, while in Mario's game, the short, Italian plumber went around spraying water from a water-spraying device cleaning off paint-like goop, both of which were worn on their backs. Don't get him wrong, Luke felt children should learn to clean up messes especially the ones they make. It was just odd to him.

While the father and daughter was lounged on the couch, watching the TV screen, there was suddenly somebody screaming at the top of their lungs outside in the street below.

"What the hell?" Luke mumbled out loud to himself, looking back over his shoulder through the window. A rock hit it as he flipped over onto his knee. Once the window was open, he yelled out, "Who is that?" He looked down to see Lorelai wave up at him.

"What are you doing down there?"

"Enjoying some air, getting some exercise, and freezing!" she replied.

Luke shrugged with the hand he was leaning on as he told her, "Well, go home." Shelby curiously wiggled around his other arm to see who it was for herself, waving when she saw it was Lorelai.

"Hey, Shelbs," she waved before dramatically telling Luke she didn't have a home to go home to. Of course, it went right over Luke's head.

"Have you gone bonkers?" he asked of her.

"People are bunking at my place," she finally explained, "and I need some place to stay."

"And it just occurred to you now to look for a place?"

She shrugged her hands out as she irritably replied, "The stupid Hatlestads showed up."

"Who?" About that time, their neighbor, Mrs. Slutsky poked her head out of her own window, demanding they pipe down. "Go back to bed, Mrs. Slutsky," Luke told her. The older woman wasn't fond of being spoken to in that manner.

"Throw your keys down!" Lorelai yelled at that point, anxiously which the older woman assumed she was talking to her. "No, Luke, Mrs. Slutsky!"

"I'll just come down," Luke told Lorelai, ending the quarrel that was now happening before shutting the window and relatching it. Telling Shelby he'd be right back with a kiss to the side of her head, Luke then headed downstairs to let Lorelai inside, offering to take her overnight bag for her.

The moment they entered the apartment, Shelby jumped up to go hug Lorelai around the middle.

"So, you're 'leeping over?" she asked.

Lorelai smiled down at her. "Yep, just like we do at my house."

Shelby cheered excited. It was refreshing to know everything seemed better than last week after the incident with Lorelai teasing her dad. "We can 'tay up la'e, 'wapping many 'tories, and in the morning, I'm making waffles." She pointed at her chest with her thumb.

"Oh, are you now?" Lorelai giggled at the kid's adorableness.

"She's hung around you too long, quoting movies," Luke explained once he had set her bag in one of the arm chairs. "The boys brought over this new movie the last time they slept over and Shelby has been quoting it ever since. Dirtiest kids' movie I've ever seen, by the way."

Lorelai stared at him with a look of conclusion. "There is a dirty kid's movie?" she questioned.

"Not dirty as in…" Luke stopped on his words, not wanting to say it in front of Shelby. "... _That_. Dirty as in...fart jokes and stuff like that. Although, there were a couple...jokes that were slipped in, probably for the parents."

"I's funny. We should ren' i' the nex' time I 'leep over a' your house," Shelby suggested.

"Maybe we can rent it this weekend? How does that sound?"

Shelby jumped at the idea, excited to sleep over at the Crap Shake, having not been over in quite a while. While the girls were talking, Luke had begun making a bed for Lorelai on the couch. When she noticed, Lorelai tried to argue to take the bed, stating how exhausted she was and needed the extra comfort. Of course, in the end, after a short disagreement, she won. Though, Shelby did offer to share her bunk with her.

"I think I'll probably bang my head on the ceiling if I had to get up in the middle of the night, Shelbs," Lorelai told her, "but thanks though, that's really sweet of you."

"No problem," Shelby assured her.

While Luke gathered up the extra sheets to switch with the ones he had on his bed, he suggested Shelby save her game and turn it off since it was getting late, reminding her of school in the morning. When she grabbed the controller from where Luke had moved it to the coffee table from the couch, Lorelai pointed out the absent cord that should have been attached.

"Oh, yeah. Jess found me a controller for my GameCube withou' a cord so now I don' have to si' close to the TV anymore. See?" Shelby went over to point a finger at a device that was plugged in where a controller would go. I can even play from the table or even my bed if I wanted to. If there wasn' a wall in the way."

"Wow, that sounds cool," Lorelai said.

"I' is," she nodded before turning back to the TV to save her latest progress of the game and turned off both the TV and game console.

Lorelai had wandered over to offer her help, making the bed, starting another small argument of who tucks what, in. Luke eventually gave up when Lorelai said she liked tucking both sides in and slipping under like it was a straight jacket.

"You know, I should really take the couch. Me taking the bed just doesn't feel right."

Luke started making up the couch for himself. "Oh, now, come on."

Lorelai folded her arms, lightly. "What?"

"You browbeat me into giving ya the bed," he pointed a hand over at it, "and pretending you don't want it now isn't working." He turned back to the couch, tossing the sheet over the back of it.

She fidgeted with her crossed arms. "I'm pretending to be polite."

"I'm fine with the couch," Luke assured her. "You're the one that's exhausted."

"You know, I'm actually not," she declared, throwing up her hands.

"Really?"

"I'm like strangely exhilarated. I mean, as awful as what happened today was, I'm happy with how I handled it."

Luke looked back behind him at her.

"You never know how you're gonna react in situations like this until," Lorelai tossed her hands up in front of her this time, "something happens, and I think I did pretty well."

"Yeah, I do too," he agreed once Luke finished tucking the sheet in under the cushions. About that time, the phone rang. He went over to answer it to hear it was Nicole calling. "Oh, hey Nicole. Hi."

"How are you today? How's Shelby?" she asked.

"We're both good."

"Anything new today?"

"Not much," he replied. "There was a fire at the local inn out here."

"Oh, the one your friend works at?"

"Yeah, the one she works at, yeah. Everybody's fine."

"That's good," she said.

"Yeah, just a lot of chaos for a while," he added and changed the subject. "So, how was your thing today?"

Nicole yawned, "Very long but everything's settled and taken care of. I'm beat."

"Alright. Fill me in tomorrow."

"Seven good?" she asked.

"Seven's good," he assured.

"Okay, I will talk to you then."

Luke smiled like a doofus, snorting a little as he said, "Okay," before letting her go, but not before Shelby asked him to say good night for her which he passed along. "Nicole says good night right back, Shell," he told her afterwards.

Shelby was leaning on the foot of her bed frame, looking around the wall, lit up like a Christmas tree.

"When was the last time you fed Gexie?" Luke reminded her. Though, Shelby was pretty good at remembering to feed Gexie, occasionally, he reminded her.

"Um, I tossed a few in yesterday, bu' I can give her one tonigh'." Shelby climbed down and hurried over to drop in another cricket. "You wanna watch Gexie eat a crick'ed, Lor-lai?"

"Uh, no thanks. I'm good," Lorelai politely declined. "I'm sure the little guy doesn't want an audience watching him eat."

"Gexie's a girl," she corrected her.

"Oops, sorry. I meant to say, I'm sure _she_ doesn't want an audience watching _her_ eat."

Shelby just shrugged and turned back to her little friend to drop a cricket in. Gexie came right over and snatched it right up.

"How's she doing on calcium, Shell?" Luke was over in the kitchen area, making some tea.

"Um, 'till good," she replied.

Luke made enough tea for the girls too, having Shelby drink hers before getting back in bed. "Good night, kiddo," he told her once she was snuggled under her _Pokemon_ comforter, the same one she had after all this time. The sheets had to be replaced since they had to be washed on a daily occurance. But that was another thing of the past now.

"Good nigh', Dad," she replied. "I love you."

Luke touched his forehead to hers, "Love ya too," he smiled and kissed her on the cheek. Shelby returned it. He squeezed an arm around her before shutting the lamp on the nightstand off. She then turned over to slip her headphones on over her ears, turning on her music she kept up there with her beside her pillow.

"So, I'm guessing that was Nicole on the phone earlier, huh?" said Lorelai, curious as he came back over to the other side of the apartment.

"Yep," he answered, tossing the sheet back up from where it fell when Luke sat down.

"Why didn't you tell her I was here?"

He shrugged, "Didn't come up."

"You mean, she didn't, out of the clear blue and for no reason, ask if I was sleeping over?"

"Just didn't seem necessary."

She was sitting cross-legged on the bed, facing him. "Well, you have nothing to hide here. You just," Lorelai shrugged, "took in a refugee."

"I know there's nothing to hide," he replied. "It's just that…" Luke stumbled on his words. "You've kind of become…"

"Become a what?"

Luke took another sip of his tea. "A sore point between me and Nicole."

Lorelai looked shocked to hear that. "What? How?"

"Well, on our first date, I was a little nervous, and after spending most of the night sharing stories about my kid, I wasn't having any luck coming up with more topics, so I was just babbling a lot. Then she ordered French fries and I told her a quick story about you and French fries and that seemed fine. Then she ordered a third cup of coffee."

"Ohh, Luke," she moaned nervously.

"And I mentioned you and your coffee thing," he finished, "and I noticed Nicole kind of reacted a little. And ever since then she's been a little sensitive to the issue." Luke took another sip setting the mug on the coffee table.

"Of course she is, Luke. You don't talk about another woman on a first date," she informed him.

He shrugged in confusion. "Even if it's just a friend?"

Lorelai stared at him. "They don't exist."

"Come on," he tried to insist.

She pointed a finger up at him to as she reiterated, "not on a first date."

"No other woman exist on a first date, not even my mother?" Luke pointed at himself.

"Do you really think talking about your mother on a first date is wise?"

Luke was about to agree when Shelby spoke up, "I would talk abou' my dad."

"Oh, no, kiddo," Lorelai called back. "For us girls, no other guy exists either."

"Why? I have to warn them firs'."

Lorelai stared over at Luke as she asked Shelby, "Why would you need to warn them for?"

"Because my dad and Jess told me I have to," she answered, making Lorelai stare harder at him. Luke just shrugged innocently with no clue why she was staring at him. "What are you doing to this poor girl?"

"Protecting her," he stated as if it was obvious.

"You know she's not gonna be able to date, right? Not with a warning like that. You're gonna scare all the guys away."

Luke turned halfway around to lay down, skeptic about it, stating this was why he hated dating. Lorelai assured him there were were certain rules to follow unless one wanted to be a loner for the rest of their life before letting him know she had to be up extra early in the morning.

"No problem, what time?" he asked, grabbing his alarm clock.

"Six."

Luke held the alarm clock in his hand. "I get up at a quarter to five every morning."

She questioned, "Why in the world would you get up that early?"

"I don't know," he said sarcastically, straightening out the blanket on top of him, "to run my business."

"Well, change businesses." Lorelai then laid down on the pillow. "Ooh, wow!" she suddenly exclaimed. "Total deja vu."

Luke folded his arms behind his head to prop it up. "Really?"

"It's the alarm clock." She chuckled. "I had a dream once that you set eighteen alarms clocks to get me up. Which is not a bad way to get me up."

"Where were we?"

"We were, um, at my house. I got up and went downstairs for coffee." He heard Lorelai chuckle at that point. "And you talked to my stomach."

Luke stared over in her direction, confused. Though it was blocked because of the wall that divided his room from the rest of the apartment. "Why on earth would I do that?" he questioned.

"Well, because I was pregnant."

His eyebrows rose at that.

"Twins."

"Mine?" he asked.

"What am I, dream tramp? Of course yours."

"We were," Luke shook his head, trying to make sense of this, "married?"

"Um, yeah." There was a short pause before she asked, "Did I not mention that?"

"No," he told her. There was an awkward silence. Turning over onto his side, Luke said, "You know, you shouldn't drink coffee when you're pregnant," as the sheet behind him fell from where it was hanging. He laid back down on the couch arm.

"Um, true," she agreed.

"It's probably why Rory's a caffeine addict."

"Right. You're right."

"Dream go beyond that?" he couldn't help ask in curiosity.

"No. Um, you talked to my stomach, and then you ki…" She stopped herself there without finishing before finally saying, "Uh, no."

"Oh, okay. Well…" Luke paused as well, thinking about what she had just told him. Finally, he just said, "Night," and left it at that. Though, knowing the fact Shelby thinks there's something between them other than just friends, Luke couldn't also help wonder if she had heard the dream or not, if she was still awake, that is, and what was going through her little mind? He wasn't even sure how to respond himself, much less a kid like Shelby. Plus, he also wasn't sure how long ago Lorelai had this dream, either.

"Yeah," Lorelai called back. "Night." After that, things quieted down and Luke turned off the lamp on the table at his head.

The next morning, Luke woke up to find the bed empty. It wasn't until he was dressed and headed downstairs, did he find out Lorelai was sleeping at one of the tables, using the napkin dispenser as a pillow. He went over to wake her, questioning why she was sleeping down there. He then apologized to her for not warning her that both he and Jess snored.

Later, when Shelby was up, he heard Lorelai ask her, how in the world did she ever get any sleep with her dad and cousin snoring away every night.

All Shelby said was, "Headphones." Plus, one learns to get used to the noise.

After a truce, Luke and Sookie were able to works things out and work together, feeding everyone breakfast. About that time, Jess came downstairs about to head out.

"You're up early," Luke pointed out to him.

"Gotta catch me that worm," he replied and tried to take off.

"Where you off to?" he asked of his nephew.

"School."

"This early?"

"I got a lab project going on," Jess explained. "Me and my team are meeting early."

"Well, have a good day," Luke told him.

"If I had a choice." That said, Jess greeted Rory with a kiss and headed out the door for what Luke hoped was school, also snagging a quick peck on the side of Shelby's head, who was sitting with her and Lorelai. That is until Lorelai got the phone call reporting her it was time to check the damages done on the inn. Rory left as well to go get ready for school, leaving the kid sitting there alone which Shelby just moved to the counter just as her dad was staring at the bowl he and Sookie were preparing, having already forgotten what he was supposed to do. It didn't help that he had a lot of stuff on his mind.

Luke looked up when his little buddy climbed up onto to the stool. He smiled for her which she returned. However, Shelby never said a word about the dream, though. Never even showed any sign of curiosity or concern. She knew not to have her music playing loud in her headphones. But then again, that tea usually did knock her out fast once she closed her eyes. Maybe she didn't hear at all.

Hopefully… He didn't want her getting the wrong idea or mixed signals, after all.


	69. Chapter 69

**Author's Note: I just wanted to point out, I had uploaded two chapters at once last time and wanted to make sure everyone seen/read chapter 67 as that starts the whole "Jess not going to school" storyline. Chapter 68 has a lot more views than 67 does so that's why I wanted to make sure.**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: This story follows the TV series.**

Chapter 69

Over the next few weeks, the remains of winter were behind them and spring had fully settled in Stars Hollow, along with the spring showers that April usually presented them with, cancelling one of Shelby's practices. Though, the air was still cool and crisp, that didn't stop Shelby from continuing to practice her soccer skills at the park, still enjoying the sport. Aside from soccer, news had reached her ears of yet another set of _Pokemon_ games. However, it was a big let down once she found out the games couldn't be played on her GameBoy Color and Nintendo had moved on to a new handheld console.

Of course, Jess picked up a copy for her when Luke had given him the money from her savings. Not having really any knowledge of the gaming world, himself, the young man had paid no attention to what the box said, only enough to see it was the new _Pokemon_ games. So when he handed the game to his cousin and she opened the packaging and removed the cartridge from the box to slide it into her GameBoy, the corners of Shelby's mouth dropped in a frown. Even though the cartridge was half the size of her other games, it was wider than they were, thus unable to fit.

Jess grabbed the box from where his cousin had tossed it on the couch beside her. Looking inside, he pulled out the instruction manual and skimmed through it. "It looks like there is a new GameBoy, now."

"Is tha' why the box says _GameBoy Advance_ in'tead of _Color_?" she asked, picking up the box and looking at it for herself.

"Guess so, Scout. Sorry," he told her, sincerely.

The look she gave made it seem like somebody had kicked a puppy or something.

With the table set for dinner, Luke came around the coffee table where Jess was sitting. He sat beside his little buddy, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm sure you'll be able to save up enough money for one," he assured her.

"Yeah, I know," she replied. "I jus' though' I would ge' to play now."

Luke hugged her to him in one arm. "I'm sorry, kiddo." In reality, though, in his head, he was ranting about Nintendo's ploy to take money out of the parents' wallets, questioning why they had to make it where a person had to buy a whole new system when there wasn't anything wrong with the old one, not actually understanding the whole "advancing technology" concept. In fact, that was the topic of discussion on his and Nicole's next date, and she had to explain that was the company's business strategy, to keep making better things that would entice kids to keep wanting their products, as well as with other companies as well. Luke still insisted it was all about money.

So, since then, Shelby's money remained untouched as she earned and saved for a new GameBoy to be able to play her new _Pokemon_ game, she now keeps in a shoe box with her GameBoy Color games when she's not playing them. It didn't help that Lorelai's birthday was right around the corner and made things harder.

"You can do what we do in our family," Ethan suggested one morning when he and his brother stopped by the diner to ride their bikes to school.

"Wha's tha'?" she asked.

Alan was the one to respond. "We make somebody something for their birthday. I bet she'll like it even more if you made her a present."

"And it doesn't even have to be hand-made. One time, we wrote our mom a story and acted it out for her," Ethan added, leaning half his body on the edge of the table while standing on his knees, on the chair.

Finally, it annoyed Luke enough to scold the kid. "Ethan, come on. Get off the table. People eat off of that."

"Wouldn't they eat off a plate, not the table?" he pointed out.

Luke gave him a stern look. The kid did have a valid point but would one really expect Luke to freely acknowledge that fact? Though, Nicole, who was meeting with Taylor that morning, did.

"Who's side are you on?" Luke asked of her.

"The one who makes valid points," she answered and snickered as he just turned back to the kids. It was also easy to side with a kid when they were somebody else's and had no connection, whatsoever, and was entertaining to watch.

"Shouldn't you three be getting to school by now?"

Alan looked at his digital sports watch. "Oh yeah. Come on, Shelby, Ethan." He and his brother hurried outside to their bikes while Shelby took two more bites of her scrambled eggs before hurrying after them. Luke stopped her at the door for a kiss good-bye, telling her to have a good day.

Shelby returned the kiss. "I will. Bye, Dad." As she turned back around to leave, she called over to Nicole, "Bye, Nicole."

"Bye, Shelby," she waved back with a smile.

Taylor also said bye which Shelby returned only to be polite. Outside, Shelby hopped on her bike with her friends and took off in the direction of the school. Not long afterwards, Taylor and Nicole finished their meeting which he tried to recommend his nephew if she was looking for someone special, not understanding her interest in Luke, before the annoying older man left, to Luke's delight.

Just as Luke was walking away, Nicole asked if he had a minute to discuss something. He sat down, taking Taylor's seat.

"My parents are coming into town," she explained, "and I am going to have lunch with them, and I thought maybe you'd like to join me."

"Join you," he repeated.

"What do you say?"

Luke was suddenly very nervous now. "It's not that I don't want to meet your parents. It's just that...I-I-I… I haven't met any parents for a very long time." He quickly added, "A woman's whom I am dating, anyway." Of course, he'd met over a dozen parents in regards to whatever activity Shelby was doing. But that was different. Meeting Nicole's parents was a whole other ballpark that freaked him out.

Nicole nodded in understanding. "Well, you don't have to," she assured him. "I'm just giving you the option."

At that point, Jess walked by, carrying somebody's order. He stopped long enough to tell his uncle, "geez, man. Just meet her parents already."

"Do you mind?" Luke asked of him, annoyed.

"So what if they hate ya? You've been there before." With that, Jess moved on to drop off the plate of food.

"You know what, I'm sorry," Nicole told him. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot."

Luke quickly shook his head. "I'm not on the spot," he stammered. "I'm completely off the spot. I'm," Luke cleared his throat as he grabbed onto his ear for a brief moment, "spotless. Uh, what time's lunch?"

"Two o'clock on Thursday."

"Two o'clock on Thursday. Okay, two o'clock on Thursday, I'll be there," he hit the table with his finger. "I just have to make sure to find somewhere for Shelby to go after school which shouldn't be a problem that could take her to soccer practice."

Nicole smiled. "That's great." Standing up from the table she asked, "so, I'll see ya tonight?"

"I'll see ya tonight," he nodded.

On her way out, she brushed a hand on his shoulder as Luke stood to his feet.

Jess also was heading out the door. "I have to go," he told his uncle.

"Where?" Luke asked.

"School."

"Oh, school. Okay," Luke replied, as if it was an obvious choice as Jess reached for his jacket. "Well, have a good day...at school."

Jess just stared at him, confused. "I will." However, this time, Luke made sure to follow Jess, to make sure that was where he was going. Unfortunately, it wasn't school where he was headed and Luke ended up trailing him all the way to Wal-mart instead.

Luke pounded the top of the steering wheel with the side of his fist in sheer disappointment. He couldn't believe Jess was going behind his back and breaking the agreement they had in order for Jess to stay there with him and Shelby.

Luke picked Shelby up from school that afternoon to head over to Lorelai's house, tossing her bike in the back of his truck. Every year for her birthday, he volunteers himself to fix whatever needs fixing. Though, after the first year, the list seems to get longer and longer. Before he left the school, however, Luke had a talk with Mr. Harris about the possibility of being late to practice on Thursday if he is unable to find someone to take her. Mr. Harris offered to keep Shelby after school and she could come with him to practice if Luke was comfortable with that. Though, surprised, Luke gave the okay if he was really fine with it. So it was settled.

"Your slave is here," he announced as the two of them headed inside Lorelai's house through the back door, making Shelby snicker while covering her hand over her mouth.

"And where's the French maid's outfit I requested?" Lorelai questioned, jokingly.

Luke poked at his stomach. "I've got it on under the plaid," he replied sarcastically.

"Oh, what else is new?" She waved him off with her hand and went over to the table to grab the list she made for her slave this year.

He set his toolbox he had in his hand on the counter by the stove. "So how's it feel to be another year older?"

"I'm not a year older until Friday, Fifi," Lorelai pointed out, grabbing a chocolate mallomar from the table.

Luke noticed them lined a certain way. "What the hell's this?" he questioned.

"My birthday mallomars," she told him as if it were obvious as she was eating one.

"She says like I should just know this," he shrugged.

Lorelai handed him the list that was on the chair in front of him. "Here's your list."

Luke looked at it, spotting the first thing on the list. "What's wrong with the garbage disposal?" he asked, heading for the kitchen sink.

"It's not disposing," she told him, heading for the cupboard.

Looking down the drain, Luke spotted the problem which she could have done herself. To prove his point, he let Shelby come over and pull it out, questioning if Lorelai had thought to do it, herself.

"I did consider it," she admitted, cheeky as he walked back to his original spot as she pointed at him, her head sideways. "Do you want to start upstairs or down? 'Cause there's actually more to do upstairs for some reason?" It seemed like she was trying to stifle a grin as Lorelai opened the box of mallomars. Taking one out of the box, she set it down where the one she ate was.

Luke watched her, puzzled. "What did you just do?"

"What?" she asked, just as puzzled.

"You put the cookie down," he stated.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"You ate the cookie, and then you took a cookie out of the box and put it where the cookie you just ate was."

"Yeah."

"Well, that's nuts," he told her.

"Rory made this for me. I don't want to ruin it," she explained.

"Then why did you eat the cookie?"

"Because I wanted a mallomar."

"But why didn't you just eat one out of the box?"

"This one was right here, and the box was all the way in the," she waved her arm towards the upper cupboard behind Luke's head, "cupboard."

"But you had to go to the cupboard to get the box," he continued to argue, "to replace the cookie you just ate off the table."

"So?"

Luke stared forward, very much annoyed at this point. He turned to Shelby for help, "You see where I'm coming from, right?"

"Um, I 'topped trying to figure Lor-lai ou' a long time ago, Dad. I' only makes my head hur'," she explained.

"Smart kid you have there," Lorelai said.

Taking a deep breath in and letting it out, Luke just took a seat in the chair in front of him, to read over the rest of the list. "I'm looking at the list now," he said, still annoyed. "Okay. Stairs, gutter…" He ran a finger down, skimming through the contents. "Electrical outlet. Which one?" He looked up at her who had sat in the chair next to him.

"In the bathroom," she answered.

"By the sink or by the bathtub?"

"Bathtub."

"Okay. So we can do most of this list today," he declared. "But I can't put up the towel rack until later. I didn't bring my drill."

Lorelai chuckled at that comment.

Luke quickly raised his arms out to her. "Dirty, yes. I know," he told her with his eyes closed, wishing he had used better wording, and reminded her of the child present in the room, even though it had clearly gone completely over her head.

"Um, that's okay. I'll be here tomorrow afternoon if you want to come by then," she assured him.

"I can't tomorrow. I'm having lunch with Nicole's parents, and Shelby has soccer practice," Luke explained, rubbing under his nose.

"Really," Lorelai replied, surprised.

"Yes, Shelby has practice every Tuesday and Thursday," he reminded her, clearly knowing that's not what she meant.

"I'm talking about having lunch with Nicole's parents," she said.

"Oh, well then, yep. They are coming into town," Luke nodded at the table.

She smiled, impressed the man has actually made it to this point in the relationship. "Okay."

"So Nicole thought I should meet them," he shrugged a hand partly up in the air.

"Makes sense," she nodded in agreement.

"Do I get to meet them?" Shelby spoke up at point, curious.

"No, not this time, Shell," he told her. "This is just 'adults only,' for now."

"Okay," she said, but sounded disappointed.

Luke felt bad leaving the kid out when it seemed like she would be okay joining them, but Nicole did only extend the invitation out to him. Plus, the first meeting with the parents should only be just Luke, and Lorelai pointed out it was good they weren't including Shelby yet since they were still technically in the early portion of the relationship. She also thought it was great Luke himself was even doing this and couldn't be more happy for him.

With that out of the way, Luke suggested to Shelby, they should get to work and got up from the table. Shelby tried offering to take his tool box for him when he grabbed it off the counter.

"Shell, this is way too heavy for you," he pointed out.

"Nuh uh, I'm 'trong jus' like you are, Dad," she argued with him, and tightened her arms to show off her non-yet-formed muscles. "See?" Shelby was wearing one of her basketball jerseys without a t-shirt on underneath so her upper arms were bare.

"Yes, I see those muscles, however they are not strong enough to be able to lift this."

"Way to be supportive there, killjoy," Lorelai told him with sarcasm.

"I am not gonna pretend she has something she doesn't and let her hurt herself," he pointed out to her.

"Just let her try for herself," she stood up for the kid.

Letting out a sigh, Luke turned back to Shelby, "Alright. Here ya go." He held the large tool box out for her to take. It immediately dropped towards the floor regardless of Shelby grabbing onto the handle in both hands. "I told ya, kiddo."

"No, I go' this." Shelby lifted one side of the tool box off the floor and proceeded to drag it down the hallway towards the stairs. Luke had to admit, the kid was bound and determined and had to smile.

"Good job, kiddo."

She held a thumbs up out to him as Shelby continued, walking backwards.

"I'll be right behind you in a second," he quickly added.

"Okay," she replied.

Luke then turned back to Lorelai, lowering his voice so only she could hear and not Shelby. "Oh, by the way, you were right about Jess."

"What about Jess?"

"He's not going to school."

She sighed. "Are you sure?"

"Yep, I watched him head right towards the school, and when he thought nobody was watching, he drove right in the opposite direction. So I followed him."

"To where?" Lorelai kept her voice down since Luke was keeping his, down.

"To Walmart."

She nodded like she had already figured before looking down at the floor, her hands on her sides.

"He's been lying to me this whole time," Luke continued.

"What are you gonna do?" she asked, looking up again.

"I'm gonna tell him I know what he's been doing," he shrugged. "Remind him that we had an agreement, that he's supposed to go to school, that he's supposed to _graduate_ from school, and then…" Luke stopped and just shrugged. "Ah, I'm gonna tell him I know what he's been doing."

Lorelai shrugged one shoulder. "I'm sorry, Luke."

"Yeah, well…" Luke stared off to the side before he told her that he'll be upstairs which she told him to call if they needed anything, or send Shelby downstairs since kids make great carrier pigeons. With that said, he headed upstairs where Shelby was now trying to lift his tool box up the steps. It ended up slipping out of her hands and back down onto the floor. Thanking her for the effort, Luke lifted the tool box up and took it from there.


	70. Chapter 70

**Disclaimer: This story follows the series.**

* * *

Chapter 70

Once they finished all they could, Luke and Shelby packed up to leave, letting Lorelai know they were done for the day. On the way out, though, Shelby stopped to ask Lorelai an out of the blue question if she knew if she was born early or on time. When Lorelai stated she was pretty sure she was right on time, to her knowledge, anyway, they heard the kid go, "Darn i'," under her breath. But when Lorelai tried to ask why she wanted to know, Shelby just said, "No reason," and dashed out to her dad's truck.

Luke tried to ask about the random question on the way home, but Shelby refused to tell him as well, not wanting anybody to know what it was she was up to until Friday night. That was enough for him to understand that it had something to do with Lorelai's party Rory had invited them to at Miss Patty's dance studio.

Since Jess had to work that night, Shelby got to be home alone again while Luke met up with Nicole to go see their movie. Luke reminded her of the emergency numbers on the fridge before kissing her good-bye. He really hated leaving the kid alone, but with Miss Patty and Taylor nearby and John downstairs, Shelby assured she would be okay, really wanting the place to herself to work on a project she was working on. When Luke left, Shelby was sitting sideways on her bunk, with her back to the wall with his guitar on her lap and her headphones over her ears. She was still in the same position, three hours later when he returned.

Catching some singing, Luke noticed she kept repeating the beginning of Reba McEntire's song, _I'm a Survivor_ , along with similar phrases like she was trying to rewrite the song, groaning in frustration quite a few times, and using the pronoun _she_ instead of _I_. After a while, Shelby just moved on to the chorus and practiced that part once more.

Hating having to disturb the kid's song-rewriting, Luke had to go over and playfully smack her foot to get her attention, letting Shelby know he was home.

She opened her eyes, surprised to see her dad home. "You're back already?"

"It's been three hours, kiddo," he pointed out, nodding over at the alarm clock on top of Jess' stereo.

Setting the guitar on the bed beside her, Shelby got up onto her knees to lean on the railing, seeing the time for herself. "Wow, time wen' by fast," she commented.

Luke smiled, leaning a hand on the railing as well. "What happens when you're busy. Time moves a lot quicker when you're doing something."

"No' always. I' doesn'when I'm in school."

He chuckled at that. "It also depends how much you enjoy what you're doing, too." At some point, though, Shelby must have took a break long enough to change into her pajamas so Luke let her return to her music.

"Since you heard wha' I'm doing, you can' tell Lor-lai. Okay, Dad?"

"I won't." Changing the subject, he asked, "hey, do you know if Jess made it home from work or not?"

Shelby shook her head. "If he did, he would have said something to me," she shrugged.

Nodding, Luke left her alone. Shelby returned her headphones to her ears and resumed where she left off, changing her radio back to the same song. It was nice to listen to as Luke sat in wait for Jess to get home. By the time he did, it was pretty late and Shelby had fallen asleep by then with her headphones still on.

"You're home late," Luke commented.

"Traffic," Jess explained, heading right for his and Shelby's side of the apartment.

Luke stared at his hands as he muttered, "Great. Okay." He then quickly got to his feet. "So, you hungry?"

"I'm meeting Rory," the young man replied, setting his keys on the desk and removed his jacket.

"Want me to make you some sandwiches?"

"So we can brown-bag it on our date?" Jess questioned with sarcasm. "I don't think so." He tossed his jacket over on his bed.

"Just offering." Luke walked over, working up the nerve to have the discussion he knew they had to have, and lay down the law. Confrontation was never the guy's strong suit. "How was work?"

Jess had gone over to grab a change of clothes from his side of the closet. "Well, the clean up version of _The Eminem Show_ seems to be selling real well, so most of the world is basically coming to an end." He then headed over to his dresser next to gel up his hair.

Luke stood up from where he was leaning against the bunk bed, clearing his throat in the process. "So, listen," he held his hands on his sides as he stared at the floor, "I wanna talk to you about something."

"Talk," Jess told his uncle while working on his hair.

"Could you stop grooming for just a second, please?" Luke asked of him.

Jess looked back long enough to tell him, "I'm already late," before resuming.

"Look," Luke rubbed his hands together as he tried to force the words out, returning them to his sides. "I was doing some thinking about your situation."

"My situation?" he repeated.

"Yeah, you know, you're working here, you're working at Walmart, you're dating Rory, you're going to school while trying to squeeze some time in for your cousin, it just seems like a lot." Luke couldn't help watch and stare as his nephew lathered the hair gel into his hair. "You ever worry if a bird flies into your head, it might never get out again?"

"I got everything under control," Jess quickly assured his uncle.

"Yeah, I'm sure you do." He let out a sigh. "I just thought maybe I could make things a little easier."

"How?"

"Well, I could give you a raise at the diner."

Jess suddenly twisted around to stare at him in surprise. "A raise."

"Yeah," Luke nodded, "and maybe help out with some of the, you know, bigger money burdens," he swung his arms back and forth, raising one towards Jess, "like your car insurance."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"So, you can quit your job at Walmart," he said.

Jess replied with a definite, "No way."

"But you'll still be making money," Luke pointed out, "and this way," he held out a finger, forcing a chuckle, "you can spend more time on Rory," quickly adding, "and school."

Jess just stared at him before grabbing his clothes. "I'm fine."

"Jess, come on."

"No," he insisted, heading for the bathroom.

"Take the deal," Luke tried to insist.

He stopped long enough to say, "I have to change."

Panicked, Luke blurted out, "I know you're not going to school."

Jess stopped once more to turn back around. "What?"

"I saw you drive right in the opposite direction."

"You spying on me?" he questioned with a confused shrug.

"You lied to me," Luke told his nephew.

"Once in a while, I take an extra shift. It's nothing."

"You have to go to school, Jess," Luke reminded his nephew.

"I go enough," the young man assured him.

Luke shrugged. "What does that mean?"

"It means I go enough," he insisted. "It's public school. My history teacher is also the football coach. Get the picture." Jess made to turn right back around towards the bathroom.

"Jess, we had a deal. You go to school," Luke pointed towards the floor in emphasis, "you graduate."

Jess stopped, turning back once more as he said, "I know. Relax. I got it all under control. I have to change." With that said, he walked away one last time to finally make it to the bathroom.

Luke let out a tired breath of air, placing his hands on his sides once more. "Jess!" he tried one last time but the young man didn't emerge until he finally changed, and even then, there was no getting through to him. So, Luke just let him head out to meet Rory. By the time the young man got home, he had gone to bed.

The confrontation was still heavy on Luke's mind the next day. Shelby cheered him up for a while without even trying until she had to leave for school. He worked through the morning as best as he could before Luke had to leave for New York, for the lunch date with Nicole's parents. Nicole introduced the three of them as they exchanged handshakes before sitting down to talk. For the most part, Nicole and her father had one of their usual disagreements, a topic Luke wasn't so keen on especially when Nicole mentioned about how one shouldn't force a mother to give up her child when his own child was given up at birth. Thankfully, she remembered what he had told her on their first date and apologized if she had brought up any painful memories. Luke assured her it was fine. He had been able to move past Rachel's decision and finally forgive her. What's done is done. He had their daughter now and that was all that mattered, and Shelby had been able to overcome a lot in the last few years with him. Though, Luke barely listened to the argument anyway, still spacing out on Jess breaking their agreement.

"So, Luke, I feel like we've been ignoring you," her mother said with a hint of guilt.

He waved her off with his hand. "That's okay."

"Nicole told us you've never been married." The older woman seemed to hint at the married part.

Nicole quickly tried to change the subject. "Or, we could talk about how he owns his own diner," she suggested, looking at Luke before switching back to her parents. "That's a good opening topic."

"Hush, sweetheart," her mother told her. "You just sit there and pretend to be ashamed of us."

"Uh, no, I have never been married," Luke answered, staring around at the floor.

She nodded at him, "But someday, maybe, right? Marriage, more children?"

"She means eventually and with the woman of your choice," Nicole assured him as Luke took a drink from his glass of wine. "They will not be involved in the picking."

Her mother continued. "Because there is nothing more wonderful than marriage." she said and smiled lovingly at her husband, who did the same.

As Luke set his glass back down on the coffee table, Nicole decided to point out, "You know, the others escaped out the bathroom window. Just a tip."

"And the children. There is nothing more rewarding than children as I'm sure you're already aware of," she smiled at Luke. "Nicole says you have a little girl of your own, already."

He smiled proudly at that last statement with a little more confidence. "Uh, yeah, I have a seven-year-old who will be turning eight in a few months."

"Oh, those are the wonderful ages," Nicole's mother gasped as if in nostalgia. "Where they are just starting to be independent but not quite there yet."

"I remember when this one was going through that stage," her father said, holding a hand out to Nicole. "Insisting on doing things herself."

"The whole experience of raising children is like the most fabulous rollercoaster ride you can imagine. From the time they're born to that first step, the first word, the first time they hug you." The woman pretty much melted in a sentimental puddle of emotions over the raising of children. "The first time they pick out their own outfits."

Luke who had still been partly thinking about his nephew, suddenly interrupted, "The first time they tell you they're going to school, then you follow them all the way to Walmart."

"Walmart?" Nicole's father questioned in confusion.

"And they think you don't know," he continued, bitterly. "They just think you're a moron, thinking, 'hey, they must be telling me the truth, right?' And they don't think that maybe you know that they are _lying to your face_ , and that you really are mad because you guys had an agreement."

Nicole's mother was very concerned by this point. "Oh, dear," she said, and exchanged a look with her husband.

"And that agreement was clear, very clear. And they know that breaking that agreement is a violation of everything you had talked about, not to mention what this would do to his own cousin who she sees as an older brother. Oh, yeah, that is cute. That's just darling. I can't wait to experience that again." Once his outburst had blown over, the room was awkwardly quiet as no one said a word. Now calm again, he asked, "I'm sorry, did someone mention cheese?"

Nicole and her parents just stared at him, lost and confused. The rest of the lunch date didn't go as anyone had planned it would, or hoped, for that matter. Nicole did try to help Luke out by explaining about his nephew living with him and his daughter and the whole situation there. It did help a bit but they were real careful for the remainder of the time. Thankfully, Luke did have to leave early to make it for the end of Shelby's soccer practice so he could pick her up.

When Shelby climbed into the truck, she asked how the lunch date with Nicole's parents. Luke just told her not to ask, that it wasn't as great as they hoped.

"You didn' tell the fish 'tory again, did you, Dad?" she asked with a concerned look, reminding him of the story that made Shelby smack her head to her forehead every time he told it to someone.

"No, I did not tell the fish story," he told her. "Are you ever gonna let that go? It was a simple mistake, you know."

"Yes, bu' you're the one who keeps telling i'," Shelby pointed out.

Luke couldn't help smile at how smart his buddy seemed to become, and reached over with one hand to playfully grab at her side. They then changed the subject to how school and soccer practice went and talked about that until they got home.

The next morning, Luke and Nicole talked about what happened at lunch over the phone.

"I really am sorry, Nicole," he was basically pleading with her, still feeling guilty over it as Luke paced back and forth behind the counter since he couldn't go anywhere else with the phone. "Your parents must think I'm a lunatic."

"No, I don't think lunatic was one of the words they used," she replied. "But they have a very extensive vocabulary, so there may have not been enough time."

"It's the first time I meet them, and I just…" Luke basically shot out and paused on his words. "Jess was driving me crazy, and…"

"I know this," Nicole reassured him. "I told them this."

"I swear, when they come back into town, _I will_ do better," he insisted before Jess came charging right by, stating he was going to school. Luke just watched, letting the young man pass.

"They may not be back in town for several months," she said.

Luke just shrugged a hand up. "Whenever."

"Whenever. So I can make another lunch date with my parents even though it's several months away?" Nicole asked.

"Sure, make it," he shrugged once more.

"Okay, I'll make it."

"Tell'em I've gotten some medication, I'm much better now," he smirked.

"I'll do that," Nicole replied, sounding like she was smiling. "And, hey, maybe next time, Shelby can join us. I'll make sure they know not to push her to talk, though."

"Sure, that sounds great," Luke shrugged a third time.

About that time, Jess returned, storming back into the diner and ordered Luke to get off the phone.

"I need the phone. Get off the phone," he ordered.

"What's the matter?" Luke asked confused.

"Someone stole my car," Jess told him which Luke had to let Nicole go so he could call the police, dialling the number to the local station.

"What do you mean, somebody stole your car?"

"I parked it right around the corner, and now it's gone." He put it to his ear.

"Why would you park it around the corner?"

"Because that's the way I parked it." Jess then shrugged in confusion. "How the hell can a police department have an answering machine?" He slammed it right back on its hook before hurrying right back out.

Luke hurried after his nephew. "Look, let's just calm down."

"Who would steal that car?" Jess stopped to turn back around. "It hardly ran. I had to teach Scout how to drive just so she could steer while I pushed it to Gypsy's, once." He stared out the window as if the car would magically reappear.

"Well, you know these chop shops, they can make a buck out of anything."

Jess pointed a finger in his uncle's face. "Oh, I am gonna kill whoever did this. I'm gonna find them and kill them."

"Listen, just go over to school. I'll take care of everything," Luke assured him.

"Well, I gotta talk to the cops," he tried to argue.

"I'll do that, go," Luke insisted. "You don't want to be late for your first class, right?"

Jess shrugged, "Well, yeah."

"You were planning on going to school, right?"

"Right."

"Okay, well then, just walk over to the school, and I'll take care of the rest," Luke assured in a calm manner, holding his hand to his chest.

Jess reluctantly gave in. "Fine," he said and turned to leave.

Luke followed, wrapping an arm around the young man's shoulders. "Have a good day." He playfully slapped Jess on the shoulder and told him to study hard. "Don't worry. Just leave the car to me." He opened the door and nudged Jess out in the direction of the school. As Luke watched him head for school, he smiled to himself, already knowing what happened to Jess' car. Once Jess had gotten home the night before, and both him and Shelby were asleep, Luke snuck out and broke into the car, moving it to his father's old garage, thinking that would force Jess to go back to school. Or, so he hoped, anyway.

Jess was still upset that afternoon, especially when he found out his car still hadn't been found. Shelby tried to cheer her cousin up, singing the _Don't Worry, Be Happy_ song. That is, until he snapped at her, not at all wanting to be happy at the moment. Shelby clammed up, looking hurt.

Letting out a sigh, Jess apologized. "I'm sorry, Scout. I know you're just trying to help, okay?" He then kissed the side of her head.

Rory also came by before she and her mother had to leave for Hartford since she was down there, helping prepare for the party, and tried to help cheer him up too.

For most of the afternoon and early evening, though, Shelby kept to herself, upstairs, fitting in some extra practice for Lorelai's present. When it was about time to head over to Miss Patty's, Luke told Shelby to shower before they left so they could go straight to bed once they got home since she had a game in the morning.

While they waited for Lorelai and Rory to arrive, Miss Patty did a sound check, making sure Shelby would be all set.

"Daddy," Shelby whispered to Luke, at one point. "My tummy feels like i's doing flips."

"Nervous, huh?"

She nodded. "Uh huh." No matter how many times Shelby got up to sing in front of everyone, she still felt anxious and nervous. Both her dad and Miss Patty always reassured being nervous and anxious were normal.

"Lorelai's gonna love your song, sweetie," Miss Patty told her.

Her mind was briefly taken off of the butterflies in her stomach once the pizza arrived...on a crane? The pizza was so large, they had to bring it in on a crane? "Why did they make the pissa so big?" she questioned towards her dad. "Why didn' they order a bunch of normal-sised pissas?"

"And what was that you told me the other day about questioning Lorelai?" he reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," the kid remembered.

Shortly after the pizza arrived, so did Rory, along with the birthday girl. Shelby ran over to hug Lorelai, wishing her a happy birthday which Lorelai thanked her for. The presents was one of the last things they did after pizza and the cake.

While everyone hung out afterwards, Shelby made her way onto the small stage. Luke jumped up with her to hand Shelby the guitar once she had climbed onto the stool. Miss Patty got everyone's attention and adjusted the microphone for the kid.

Taking in a deep breath once Luke jumped off the stage to go stand with Lorelai, Rory, and Lane, helping Miss Patty step down in the process, Shelby leaned forward to speak into the mic. "I, um, hi, everyone," she said, nervously.

Everyone clapped and cheered for the little girl to help encourage her.

She laughed, nervously. "I, um, practiced this song and t-tried to c-change a lo' of the w-words to fi' Lor-lai, be'ter." She rubbed at the back of her neck, underneath her hat's brim.

"You're gonna do great, sugar!" Babette called out from the crowd.

Luke could see the kid smile. Taking another deep breath in, she continued. "This used to be Reba McEntire's song, _I'm a Survivor_ , bu' I call i', _Lor-lai's a Survivor_." With that said, Shelby positioned her fingers on the cords and started to play, playing for a moment before starting to sing. Everyone laughed, including Lorelai, when Shelby mentioned the part, "bu' she's jus' too hard-headed."

For the most part, the song was the same, though, only really changing the pronouns and adding Lorelai's name. Nonetheless, Lorelai loved it, smiling the whole time as Shelby sang the words. That's what really mattered.

When the song was over, Shelby stummed for a bit more before finally stopping. "Happy birthday, Lor-lai." She then held a thumbs up out to her which Lorelai returned as everyone cheered and clapped for the kid.

Luke jumped back up to take the guitar from his little buddy, so she could climb down, praising her for a job well done. Shelby rushed over so Lorelai could hug her and tell her thank you. It was one of the best birthday presents she's ever received.

Seeing the kid light up that Lorelai liked what Shelby did for her birthday was a highlight for the end of a stressful week, for sure.

* * *

 **Author's Note (At least for the guest reviewer, "AJ Granger"):**

 **I just wanted to take the time to respond in an author's note since I can't respond privately to a guest review. You said that you hope Luke learned something on parenting as not to kick Jess out because Shelby would miss him. Well, parenting is about making tough decisions, not to make their kids happy all the time, (although Luke wishes he could make Shelby happy all the time). Luke and Jess had a deal and Jess did not keep up his end. As for your repeated question why Luke was still living in his apartment with Jess and Shelby, that was established last season around chapters 40-43 when he had construction done to make the place bigger. Nobody's cramped. As I've stated many times, I am following the series with Shelby inserted. I do accept suggestions and advice, and have used readers' suggestions, but this is my story, and, yes, there will be plenty of heartbreak for both Shelby and Luke. Yes, Shelby will miss Jess, but I have it all planned out for the most part. Please just let me tell my story. If you are looking for a more happy story, I'm sure there are plenty of others you can read.**

 **I'm sure everyone is getting tired of reading these author's notes. Trust me, I'm tired of writing them. At the end of the day, as long as one person is still reading, I am content. I've made it this far and I am making it my personal goal to finish this story to the very end.**


	71. Chapter 71

**Disclaimer: This story follows the TV series.**

* * *

Chapter 71

Sunday evening, Jess had some time to spend with his little cousin, to work on her speech sounds. While sitting on his bunk, he held up each flashcard, having Shelby say the word a dozen times. Their main focus was finally getting that stubborn ending T sound finally down, and even then that was only the first step before moving on to getting it down in sentences, and eventually conversation.

Luke could hear how much the kid tried to say each word correctly.

"Come on, Scout. You can do this." Jess then sounded out the word cat for her, putting emphasis on the T. Shelby broke the word up and was able to say both but not at the same time. They tried quite a few times before moving on to the next word.

After a while of sounding out words, Shelby was carefully breaking up the word dot's sounds, letter by letter, when it finally came out. "D'o't. D'o't. D'o't." After repeating it several times, Jess had her say it normally. Really pushing herself, she finally said, " _Dot_."

It caught Luke's attention as he heard Jess say, "You got it."

Shelby tried again, sounding the word out before saying the word as a whole. "Dot."

"Alright, Scout." The sound of palms high-fiving was heard. They kept going, doing the same with each word until Shelby was able to say each word correctly. With each word, Shelby's confidence rose higher and higher.

"I did i'!"

"Hey," Jess caught the slip up. "You did, what?"

"I did," Shelby paused to make sure to say the T in it, " _it_."

"You sure did." A sound of another high-five was heard. "Awesome, Scout." But that only meant they could finally move on to the next step, saying the ending T sound in sentences.

Shelby was so excited, she hurried over to her dad's side of the apartment to tell him. "Guess," she paused once more, " _what_ , Dad."

Luke smiled, "What, kiddo?"

Shelby then listed off some of the words her and Jess had been practicing. " _Dot_. _Cat_. _Pot_. _Don't_. _What_. _That_." She smiled, proudly. "I can say the T, now."

"Yeah? Good job, kiddo. I'm so proud of you." He reached over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to hug her.

Shelby was so excited and proud herself, the next day, she was telling everyone Shelby saw. Luke couldn't remember the last time his little buddy was this excited. Even when Nicole came by, Shelby was able to share with her.

"My big bro is the... _best_ ," she stated, proud like it was a fact.

"Sounds like Jess is a very good older brother to help his cousin out like that," Nicole told her, encouragely.

Shelby nodded. "My mom... _didn't_ ...think so... _but_ ...he is."

Luke perked up at the mention of Rachel. It had been a long time since Shelby had said anything about her mom. He caught a look with Nicole, noticing Luke had reacted.

"I'm sure your mom probably didn't know Jess the way you do," Nicole helped reassure the kid.

Shelby's gazed suddenly dropped as her cheeks glowed red, like she was ashamed to have brought up her mom.

Nicole ran a comforting hand across her back. "It's alright, sweetie." Once Shelby was feeling better, Luke suggested she head upstairs and study her spelling words so he could quiz her later. Climbing down from the stool she was sitting on, Shelby headed upstairs. After the kid was upstairs, Luke admitted he had no idea Shelby was still dealing with what happened last year.

"Well, I don't think that's something somebody could just get over, especially not a child as young as Shelby," Nicole pointed out.

Luke let out a sigh, feeling like he was a terrible father. "I just wish her mother had at least tried harder to stay," he admitted.

She shrugged. "Some people just aren't cut out to be a parent. It's sad but a reality."

"I never saw myself as a parent, and here I am." Luke raised a hand towards upstairs, "I'm here making sure mine's taken care of while not only running a diner, but trying to help my teenage nephew graduate high school which I'm failing at there." He shrugged the same hand up.

"You're trying at least. That's what counts, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." Luke turned back to fully face the counter. Changing the subject, the two decided to plan a ski trip for the following weekend after the next. He was able to talk to the twins' parents to see if Shelby could spend that Friday night at their house, but since Jess would still be home, he and Nicole had to get a ridiculous head start.

When Luke brought up the trip to Lorelai when he had stopped by the inn to check on the damages on the stove, Lorelai offered them a room, free of charge, so he and Nicole didn't have to leave so early. But not before having his butt talked about when Sookie admitted to Lorelai about accidently touching it when she was seeing what he was doing. Nobody had said anything up until Lorelai had entered the kitchen. It made Shelby giggle at least. Though, being a kid, it was probably had to do with the fact they kept saying the word, butt since she still seemed to be protective over her dad being teased now, for some reason.

Lorelai also tried to offer for Shelby to spend the night at her house, but Shelby was the one that told her, she was going to stay the weekend at her friends' house, proclaiming they were finally gonna beat _Luigi's Mansion_ together.

After talking it over with Nicole about staying at the inn for the night, Luke agreed to take the offer. Shelby was picked up an hour after she got home from school that Friday afternoon, by the twins' mom, warning him that her husband would be watching the kids since she had a girls' night with her girlfriends. That meant the kids may have access to unlimited amounts of junk food and would probably be eating Lunchables for dinner since Ron wasn't that great of a cook.

"Not to worry, the same thing usually happens whenever Shelby spends the night with Lorelai," Luke shrugged it off.

"Okay. I just wanted to give you a head's up your daughter may be pumped up with sugar while she's under my husband's supervision," she told him, lightheartedly.

"Shelby is usually good at knowing her limit, even for a kid."

Cheryl was impressed to hear a kid had control when it came to anything involving sugar.

With things settled, Luke kissed his little buddy good-bye, who also hugged her cousin as well, before she left with Cheryl. A couple hours later, Nicole arrived. Luke made sure to let Jess know how long he'll be gone for and to make sure to lock up the place at the end of the night.

At the inn, Luke checked in with Michel, who seemed to be obsessed with Chow puppies at the moment, asking Nicole if she seen one and showing off pictures of his new puppies. Once they had their room key, Luke and Nicole headed for their room. Though, things got slightly awkward when Lorelai came through having to do the turndown for each of the rooms.

Before going to sleep, Luke felt the need to give Ron a call, to check in on how Shelby was doing, who was busy playing video games. She did willingly come say good night to her dad, and fill him in on how the night was going. She also informed him, she got to try a Mountain Dew and loves it.

"Great," Luke had to force out as much excitement as he could muster but on the inside, he was loathing it. "Just make sure you go to bed at a decent hour for your soccer game in the morning." Ron and Cheryl had offered to take her so Shelby wouldn't miss a game.

"I will, Dad."

"Okay, love ya, kiddo."

"I love you too, Dad."

Luke passed the phone real quick so Nicole could say good night. Before hanging up, he also told Shelby, good night, as well. That said, the couple drifted off to sleep so they could head out in the morning.

Unfortunately, the ski trip ended up postponed when the phone in the hotel room rang. Having ten minutes left to sleep, disturbed, Luke finally answered after several rings, to find somebody named John on the other end, who said something about his son, Kyle throwing a party last night without permission, that was broken up by police because of a fight between two guys. Luke groaned at the fight part. He may not have known John or Kyle, but he did know somebody who would get into a fight at a party and their name would probably rhyme with Tess.

Having to apologize to Nicole and call off their plans, Luke got dressed and headed for this "John's" place where he ran into Lorelai and Rory, and ranted about it to them, seeming just as irritated as ever about the whole thing.

Luke then spent the next hour or so talking to John and his wife, and ended up writing them a check to help repair the damages caused by Jess and apparently Dean, as well, who was there, working out a payment plan and taking responsibility for his part. Once that was finally taken care of, he headed for the diner where the place was still going through its usual Saturday rush, and Jess running around, sounding annoyed and brought his uncle up to speed on what's been going on, ending with some guy who had been sitting at one of the big tables, not ordering and making Jess lose out on some of his tips.

Luke looked up at the tips part. "I'm sorry, don't you mean _my_ tips?" he questioned firmly, pocketing some money.

Jess looked over at him as he replied with a "What?"

"You know where I was, this morning?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, Scout's pee wee game?"

"No, I was at Kyle's," Luke corrected, still stuffing the money into his pocket. "His parents called me this morning."

"Oh, yeah?" Jess turned to walk away.

Luke followed. "Seems a little party you went to last night got a little _Animal House_ , huh?"

Jess picked up a plate of leftover food someone left, to clear it. "Dean started it."

"You're not really gonna use that one, are ya?" he questioned of his nephew.

Once the plate was cleared, Jess turned back to fully face his uncle. "Well, he did. He sucker-punched me, and I was just defending myself."

"Oh, apparently you defended yourself all the way through the house," Luke pointed out as Jess continued cleaning up the counter, "and out into the front yard. You defended yourself with a chair that is now broken." Luke began counting things off on his hand, "you defended yourself with a coffee table. You defended yourself with an ottoman."

"I don't need a recap."

"Do you have any idea how much damage you caused?" Luke questioned firmly.

Jess looked around, shuffling on his feet, in frustration. "Dean caused it, too."

"The place was trashed!" he raised his voice.

"Dean trashed it, too."

Luke dropped his head now frustrated himself as he leaned his arms on both counters, trying his best not to explode. He cleared his throat before looking up again. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Nope, it'll just be a perk," Jess replied, sarcastically.

"Okay, here's the deal. From now on, every cent you make here goes towards paying them back."

Jess tried to object. "Hey, what about…"

"Dean's paying them back, also," he quickly added.

"How do you know?"

"Because _he_ was at Kyle's house when I got there," Luke told him.

Jess just stared at his uncle as if surprised. "You're kidding me."

" _He_ had already worked out a financial agreement with the parents and was helping put a fence back up."

"Man, he's gonna make some woman a fine doormat someday," the young man scoffed.

Luke pointed a firm finger at him. "You are making good on this, Jess."

Jess pointed behind him, "I've got to get more coffee out of the store room."

Now, waving the finger, he firmly stated, "Every cent is getting paid back." Dropping it, Luke added, "I never want those people calling me again." With that, Jess was dismissed. Turning around, Luke started to clear some more plates when the guy Jess had been referring to, caught his eye as he slipped out.

He saw the guy had left his wallet on the table so setting the plates by the kitchen's window to be washed, Luke rushed after him, grabbing the wallet on the way. The guy took off when he tried to call after him, though. Opening it up, Luke removed the driver's license to see who it belonged to. His face fell when Luke saw who the wallet's owner was and wasn't thrilled one bit.

Just as he turned to head back inside, Luke caught sight of Shelby sprinting over in his direction. The look on her face showed she was really upset over something. Once she had reached him, Luke scooped her up and let Shelby squeeze onto his neck where he heard her sniffling.

"Kiddo, what's the matter?" he asked, rubbing her back up and down with his free hand. Whatever it was, it made her unable to speak. So, Luke headed inside where Jess happened to look up from where he was making another batch of coffee.

"What happened?" he asked, suddenly concerned and ready to kick somebody's ass if they hurt his cousin. Luke just told him not to worry about it since he had it before heading upstairs where he set her on the arm chair, kneeling in front of her.

"What's going on, kiddo? Did you have a fight with Ethan or Alan? Or did something happen at your game?" Luke noticed she was still in her soccer uniform.

Shelby shook her head. Her face was drenched in tears by this point. "W-we w-won our firs' game."

Not bothering to say something about the slip-up of forgetting the T sound at the moment since she was upset, Luke just shrugged, confused. "Isn't that good? You guys have worked all season to get that win."

Shelby sniffed in, wiping her nose on her bare arm. "I' was good. Bu' when Ron said he would take us to Fran's for a trea', i' was closed."

That was a surprise to Luke. As long as he had known the sweet, old lady, Fran rarely closed her bakery, especially on a regular Saturday like today. "Maybe Fran's sick, Shell," he shrugged.

But Shelby shook her head once more. She then threw herself against her dad once again, squeezing his neck like before.

Holding his arms around her in a comforting hug, Luke tried to reassure everything was probably just fine. She just continued shaking her head.

After some encouragement, Shelby was able to get out the part that was upsetting her.

"F-Fran...d-died. I' said so on the sign," she added when Luke tried to assure that may not have been the case. His shoulders slumped at the news, having known Fran since he was younger than Shelby was now, remembering his own mother taking both him and his sister to Fran's bakery for a treat whenever they had to go on errands all day.

Kneeled there, Luke comforted his little buddy for as long as she needed before she wanted to go lay down, going over to climb up to her bunk. Leaving her alone for now, Luke headed for the door until Shelby crawled over to the foot of her bed.

"How come you're home, anyway, Dad?" she couldn't help ask as Shelby sniffed in, a couple times.

"Long story, don't worry about it, kiddo," he told her. Thankfully, the kid accepted that answer and laid back down on her pillow.

Shelby ended up falling asleep, taking a nap for a few hours since her and the boys had stayed up late, buzzed on Mountain Dew and playing her GameCube, and having to wake up early for her soccer game. Ron and Cheryl came by to drop off Shelby's stuff and to see how she was doing. Luke thanked them and assured them Shelby would be fine, eventually. The whole town would be grieving for a while, actually.

Later, once Luke found some time, making sure of it, he paid a visit to the local motel finding the room Jess' own father was staying in and had a "nice chat" with the guy, returning the wallet in the process. Not having seen the guy since his nephew was born, Luke got right to point in making sure Jimmy didn't show his face around again, nor to upset Jess in anyway. With how things seemed to be going downhill with keeping his nephew on the right path, Luke did not want to add further fuel to the fire.

Luke returned to the apartment to Shelby playing her old Nintendo with Jess, playing her _Legend of Zelda_ game again. She had told her dad it seemed to be the only game Jess didn't seem to have an issue playing with her.

Having asked Shelby to shower and get ready for bed while he was out, Luke told her to turn the game off and head to bed so they could be up for the service the town was having for Fran's passing. Jess offered to read a chapter of _Matilda_ they were currently reading, gently smacking her leg.

After making sure the game was saved and turned both it and the TV off, the cousins headed over to their side. On the way, Shelby tossed in a couple crickets for Gexie and said good night to her.

The next morning after Luke closed the diner for the service, Shelby picked out her black collared shirt. Luke offered to help button it for her but the kid assured she could do it herself. It took longer but Shelby was able to button each one all the way down and tucked her shirt in afterwards. She did let her dad help brush out her hair at least since he had to detangle it. Even now, a little older, Shelby still had messy hair underneath her baseball cap, which she had to leave home.

Both dressed and ready for the service, Luke and Shelby headed down the stairs where Jess was going over all of the orders from earlier that morning. Rory came by but stopped at the door. The two watched in confusion as the teenage couple seemed to struggle with deciding whether or not to talk to each other. The closest Rory got was the door, and Jess got all the way outside before coming right back inside and headed upstairs, mumbling, "what are you looking at," to Luke.

Luke and Shelby exchanged perplexed stares, wondering what that was all about.

At the church, Taylor was handing out the service programs, saying something about his grand opening being postponed, except to Luke. Instead, they just exchanged stares as Luke took a program from him. Taking a seat in the back, the service shortly began with the reverend starting the introduction before welcoming a close friend of Fran's up to say a few words. Though, most of the speech ended up being unheard when the microphone kept short-circuiting as the lady continued speaking as if nothing was happening. It wasn't until she was finished and the reverend went back up there, did he switch out the microphones before thanking her.

Shelby looked up at her dad, giving him a confused look. All he could do was shrug in return.

During the moment of silence, the matching band Taylor had gotten for his new store's grand opening apparently did not get the memo it was cancelled, interrupting as they went by. Apologizing, Taylor ran out of the church yelling after the band.

The reverend let others come up and say a few words before finally closing with one last stroll around the town square per Fran's last request. Shelby wanted to join them so her and Luke followed the others outside where some of the men were carrying the casket.

During the walk, Shelby held onto Luke's hand, still wiping at her eyes from the service. Luke noticed and rubbed her hand gently with his thumb. Up ahead, being tall enough, Luke noticed Lorelai and Sookie pestering one of the men carrying Fran, about something until finally cheering and jumping up and down. _Who cheers during a solemn occasion such as this?_ Then, he remembered Fran was the owner of the Dragonfly, the inn Lorelai and Sookie wanted to buy. Still, though, there was a time and place. Of course, it was slightly better than Kirk dropping the casket at a later point when a gnat flew into his mouth, and ended up being pinned underneath.

After one scroll around the square, Fran was finally laid to rest where Shelby wanted to volunteer to sing like she had done for her great uncle's funeral. Luke asked the reverend for her who made the announcement before giving Shelby the floor. Unlike with her great uncle whom she had never met, Shelby had a hard time getting the words out without crying some more. Luke had her take deep breaths until she was finally able to sing the words to _Amazing Grace_ as the coffin was being lowered into the ground.

There was a dinner afterwards for the friends and family to talk and share memories of Fran. With it being a school night and Luke having to be up early to open the diner, they were one of the firsts to leave, heading home where Jess seemed to be waiting up for them. Or at least Luke.

"Hey, you hungry? I can make you some eggs," Luke offered.

"So, I hear you went to see my father last night," Jess told him, staring right up at his uncle from where he was sitting at the table.

Of course the guy didn't heed Luke's warning. "Yeah, I did," he admitted and told Shelby to go get ready for bed before heading to his side.

Jess quickly followed after him. "Were you gonna tell me?"

"He came by." Luke was pulling off his suit jacket.

"He came by?" Jess repeated.

"I didn't think he had the guts."

"So, what were you thinking?"

"Jess," Luke let out a sigh, sliding his hands into his pockets, "I don't like your father very much."

"So, because you don't like him I can't know he's here," Jess continued to argue.

"You know he's here," Luke pointed out.

Jess took a step towards him. "No thanks to you."

"Shouldn't have coming from me in the first place." He reached over to set his keys on the desk behind him before turning back to his nephew.

Jess barely shrugged his hands out, "So what? You don't think you owed it to me to tell me?"

Luke turned away to stare at the floor, rubbing the back of his head before he snapped, "No, Jess, I didn't. And with everything that's going on here with you," he stumbled on his words, "I kind of hoped he'd just walk away. But," Luke shrugged his arms up in the air, "once again, Jimmy makes the wrong move. What a shock."

Getting in his face, Jess yelled, "Who the hell are you to decide what the right move is?! Just because you pulled the same stunt with Scout's mom doesn't give you the right to decide whether or not I can't know about mine!"

Luke was taken aback by what Jess said.

"Last I checked I'm not a kid!" he added.

Having to shake off the shock, Luke replied calmly, "Really. I'm the one who's saving your ass constantly. I'm the one who just wrote a check to Kyle's father so he wouldn't press charges at you!" He paced around him before turning on his heel, barely catching a glimpse of Shelby peeking around as she held onto the leg of the bunk beds. But the anger finally being released got the better of him. "I'm the one trying to knock some sense into that thick head of yours about the future!"

"Oh, here we go," Jess scoffed.

"You don't take anything seriously," he snapped. "That's why you're doing so crappy in school! You're smart enough."

Jess slid his hands into his pockets as he swallowed.

"You read more than anyone else I've ever seen. Hell, you tutor your own cousin," Luke briefly pointed a hand back behind him. "There's no reason why you should be barely graduating."

"I'm not," Jess admitted, calmly this time.

Luke blinked at that. "You're not what?" he shrugged his hands out to the sides.

"I'm not graduating!"

"Yes, you are," Luke argued with him.

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are, because we had an agreement that if you were going to live here, you were gonna go to school, and you are gonna graduate!" He reminded his nephew.

Jess just casually shrugged, "Well, I didn't, and I'm not." He then stormed past his uncle.

Luke shrugged his arms out as he asked, "What is wrong with you?! What, you do this just to spite me?"

"Look, forget it. It's done," Jess told him.

"So what? What's your life now? Walmart, full-time? That's your great future? Gonna take the plunge and buy yourself a second blue vest?" He waved his hand out at him as Luke walked away.

"Maybe, why not? What's wrong with it? I mean, it's no diner!" Jess challenged his uncle.

Luke snapped, turning back around, "Hey, I own this business, kid!" He pointed straight at the floor. "I built it! This is mine! I'm not at the mercy of some boss, waiting and hoping to be chosen employee of the month for a couple hundred bucks and a plaque. I'm always employee of the month! I'm employee of the year, of the century, of the universe!" Lowering his tone, Luke added with his finger raised, "you should be so lucky to have a job like mine."

He then turned to pace around the room, to calm himself down and think straight. With his head a little more clear, Luke returned, clearing his throat, "okay, here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna live here one more year. You're gonna quit your job."

Jess began shaking his head, repeatedly as his uncle listed off the new plan.

"You're gonna take twelfth grade over again, and you will graduate." He pointed a finger at him again.

No!"

"I'm not playing with you, Jess. You quit your job. You go to school."

Jess declared, "I am _not_ going back to school!"

"So, that's it?" Luke questioned.

"Yeah, that's it," he said.

Luke just stared at his nephew. He hated himself for what he had to do. What it would do to Shelby. But Luke had no other choice. Stealing a look at a now terrified and confused kid, he forced the words out. "Then you gotta go." He then walked away.

The apartment was now in dead silence as Luke went into the bathroom to cool down and throw some water on his face. He planned on going to check on Shelby afterwards until he heard Jess had already beaten him to it. Grabbing their jackets, Jess called out they were going for some air. In any other circumstance, Luke would object to Shelby going out this late, but this time, he let it slide. Once the cousins were gone, he dropped down onto the side of his bed and dropped his face into his hands. Not only did Luke just kick out her cousin, Shelby also now knew what he had done with her mother and why she hadn't came back. He was positive Jess was now filling in the details.

Luke wasn't sure how Jess even knew when he hadn't told anybody. It was possible Jess had overheard him on the phone. After all, Luke was yelling, and Jess was working downstairs that day. He could have been coming upstairs for something. Whatever it was, everything now seemed to be blowing up in his face.

Dropping backwards, Luke constantly rubbed his hands across his face. He must have fallen asleep because the next he knew, it was the middle of the night. Peering over through the darkness at his alarm clock, it said the time was ten minutes after three AM.

Sitting up, Luke heard a loose floorboard creak. He peered around the wall to see Jess' shadow slipping out the door and dropped his head as Luke let out a defeated sigh under his breath where it wouldn't be heard.

There was complete silence until suddenly, Shelby cried out, "Wait!" The bunk bed made a squeaking sound as she quickly got onto the ladder, hearing her feet hit the floor with a loud thump before dashing out the door, letting it close behind her.

Luke hurried after his daughter, turning on the light so she wouldn't trip on the stairs, rushing to the top just as she reached the bottom.

"Don't go!"

Luke stood there, listening as he heard Shelby plead with Jess not to leave, crying her heart out and shattering his own.

"I'll give you anything you wan'! I'll clean our room or wash your car when you get i' back! I'll do anything you wan' jus' don' go! Please!"

Straining his head forward to hear, hoping Jess would change his mind, he heard him say, "I can't, Scout. I have to go."

Shelby cried some more. There was a long pause before she admitted, "I know I always say Dad is my hero." She stopped to sniff in and take a deep breath. "I jus' wan' you to know tha' you're my hero too, Jess."

There was another pause before he heard Jess respond. "Trust me, Scout. I'm no hero." He then mentioned something about promising to actually keep in touch with her this time before Luke heard the bell above the door ring and the door close, shut.

Finally coming downstairs, Luke caught a glimpse of Jess just as he disappeared from view. Standing there, staring through the window, in the middle of the diner was Shelby, watching him leave. Her face was covered in tears.

"Come here, Shell," he tried to call her over.

She did but Shelby ended up walking right past him without even making any kind of eye contact as he kneeled to her level. The kid then headed back upstairs. Dropping his head once again, he shut his eyes tight and rubbed them in one hand. After a moment, he stood up to go lock the door back. His gaze wandered in the direction Jess had gone, just feeling like a complete failure. If Jess did come back, there was always the spare key they kept hidden above the door.

Eventually, Luke headed back up the stairs, turning off the lights as he went inside the apartment.

Shelby was sitting over in front of Gexie's tank, cradling her right arm where Gexie was sitting on as she petted her head gently with her finger. Sometime during the night, Shelby had changed into her pajamas, probably when her and Jess got back from their walk. Luke could hear his little buddy sniffle occasionally.

Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, Luke spoke up. "I'm sorry about all this, Shell. Really. I…" He saw Shelby shake her head repeatedly letting him know she didn't want to talk at the moment. So, he left her alone, assuring her, she didn't have to go to school, remembering what happened last year. Even though Shelby seemed to have moved past that phase. Luke didn't want to take the risk.

Returning to his side, Luke finally changed out of his clothes from yesterday before heading back to bed to grab a couple more hours of sleep. Only, this time, he was unable to fall back to sleep and kept tossing and turning. After a while, he heard Shelby return Gexie to her tank and wash her hands at the kitchen sink before climbing back into bed. Although, it didn't sound like she used the ladder. When Luke eventually gave up trying to get some more sleep and got up to start the day, he saw Shelby curled up on Jess' bunk, hugging her toy Charizard to her in her arm.

Being careful as not to wake her, Luke covered her with a blanket from Shelby's bunk and let her sleep.

Lorelai stopped by that morning to grab breakfast to go since Rory wouldn't be interested in eating there. Not really in the chatty mood, Luke gave her, her food and let her leave with a brief small talk.

Later, when Luke went up to check to see if Shelby was awake and hungry, he saw the bunk empty, including hers. Checking the closet, first, Luke hurried to his side to see if Shelby was in the bathroom. He checked his closet, too, under all of the beds, which should have been one of the first places to look as that was her old hiding spot, but Shelby wasn't anywhere in the apartment.

Panic fully set in as Luke searched all over the place. When he made to go check downstairs to see if she had slipped past him, Luke noticed her scooter was missing where she usually kept it leaning against her bike.

Racing downstairs, he called out to their new Caesar Luke had recently hired to replace the old one who had to move back home to care for his aging mother. It was harder on Shelby who loved Caesar, who now sends her postcards to keep in touch. It was strange to get another cook also with the name Caesar, who still had some growing to do on the kid.

"Caesar, did you see Shelby?"

The much shorter Caesar stuck his head out to respond. "No, I haven't," he shook his head.

At that moment, the phone rang.

Luke answered it. "Can't talk. Missing kid."

"Luke, it's Lorelai," he heard on the other end of the line. "It's okay. I have the missing kid here at my house. She appeared on my doorstep when I was leaving for the inn."

He felt himself release a big ol' breath of air, now able to relax, knowing Shelby was alright and safe. "Thank, God," he said. "I'll come get her."

"No, it's okay."

"Are you sure? I thought you were heading for the inn?" he pointed out.

"It's fine. I can go in late," she assured him. "Shelby seems really upset. Give me time to talk to her and I'll bring her back for you."

"Okay." Luke thanked Lorelai before hanging up. Now that Shelby was found, he tried to get back to work. He found it hard to focus, though. Sometime later, the phone rang again. He answered it to find it was Lorelai calling back, only this time, she did not sound happy at all.

"I want to see you and Rachel on my porch as soon as possible. In fact, you have seventy-two hours."

He tried to question the request. "What? Why?"

"I mean it, Lucas Danes," she told him firmly. "I don't care how long it takes, you better find a way to get that woman here, and I don't want to see either one of you until then. Got it?"

Luke couldn't help swallow. "Um, okay?" At that, the call ended. He slowly moved the receiver to stare it before hanging it on its hook. Guess, he had some calls to make.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Wanted to explain the detail on Caesar. Since they changed actors on the show, I thought I would include it and give a reasoning as to why Caesar suddenly changed his full appearance.**


	72. Chapter 72

**Disclaimer: This story follows the TV series**

* * *

Chapter 72

First call Luke made was to Rebecca to make sure Rachel still had the same number. He didn't want to end up calling and some random stranger answers. That was way too awkward, and Luke had enough to worry about than explaining to some random stranger he had the wrong number.

After a few rings, Luke got her voicemail and had to leave a message asking to call him back. Rebecca got back to him in under three hours.

"Sorry about missing your call. I was in the middle of a pedicure and the lady advises us to keep our phones turned off," she explained.

He casually shrugged. "No problem. I was just calling to ask if your sister has the same number or if she changed it."

"I haven't called her in a couple weeks, but I'm pretty sure it's still the same. Why?"

"Uh, no reason. Just wondering." Luke hoped Rebecca wouldn't press anything and the conversation could end there and they can hang up. Of course, everything else seemed to be going wrong. Why should this go in his favor, as well?

"So, you just suddenly, out of the blue, wonder if Rachel kept the same number after a year for no reason?" She questioned suspiciously. "You randomly wonder if people you forbid from your child's life, keep their same number or not?"

"Yeah, sure…" he quickly shook his head, stopping himself. "I mean, no." Swallowing, Luke placed a hand on his side. "Rachel was just on my…" He caved. "Okay, I need to talk to her about something important. Okay? You happy now?"

"Talk to her about, what? About Shelby? Is everything alright? She's not sick, is she? She looked okay, two weeks ago when we came to see her soccer game but I guess things can take a turn for the worse, overnight." Boy, can they ever.

"No, it's nothing like that. Something just came up that I need to discuss with her, that's all." Luke messed with his ear, nervously. Remembering what Rebecca had said about knowing this whole mess with Rachel would eventually blow up in his face, he did not want to give the woman the satisfaction of being able to say, _I told you so_.

"Um, okay. She has yet to return any of my calls the past year, just a head's up. Frankly, I'm surprised she still has the same number, to be honest," Rebecca told him. "Each time we came to visit, I would share with Rachel so she could be kept up to date on how Shelby's been doing, afterwards. So she knows about Shelby playing basketball and soccer, and how well she's been doing in school, and stuff like that. I told her about Shelby breaking her arm, too. So you won't have to fill her in on much if you do get a hold of her."

Luke thanked her before he told Rebecca that he should go, needing to get back to work. Shortly afterwards, they ended the call. He waited until that evening, after closing early, to give Rachel a call. Like her sister predicted, Rachel did not answer after the phone rang several times.

After the voicemail beeped, Luke left a brief message. "Hey, Rachel. It's, uh, Luke. You're probably surprised to hear from me. If you could call me back as soon as you can, that would be great because I feel I could possibly be murdered in my sleep if I don't get a hold of you in the next seventy-two hours. So...if you could call me back, that would be really great. Uh, thanks. Bye." With that nervously, awkward message said, Luke hung up the phone.

Luke then sat there in what felt like an empty apartment. He stared at the floor still thinking about the night before. Shelby still hadn't come home yet. In fact, Rory had come by that afternoon to pick up an overnight bag for her.

On the positive side, Luke wasn't all alone. Gexie was still there.

Standing to his feet, he made his way over to check on the little gecko, who was out of her hide. Luke looked down, inside. "Looks like it's just you and me, Gexie," he told her. Gexie just stared around at her surroundings as geckos usually did. Carefully moving the netted lid to reach his hand in, Luke offered to let Gexie climb on top which she took to after some consideration. He then lifted her out of the tank, making sure Gexie didn't fall off. Luke rarely picked the gecko up unless he and Shelby were cleaning out the tank.

Gexie took to climbing up his forearm where she liked to lay. She especially liked Shelby's arm since it was smaller and perfect size for her. Luke was glad the two seemed to get along so well. Being an animal, he was worried it would try and bite the kid or hiss at her. Gexie did look like a snake with legs. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

Gexie pawed at his sleeve, another thing the little gecko seemed to like doing. So much so, she had began tearing at the paper towels they would put along the bottom of the tank until Luke decided to switch to using a kind of soft soil that was safe for leopard geckos so Gexie could dig if she wanted to.

It was mostly quiet as the two bonded. Luke used the side of his pointer finger to pet her gently on the head. When he took his finger away, she looked up with those big, black eyes and stared at him as if to ask, "why did you stop for?"

Luke petted her one more time, receiving the same stare. "You are one needy gecko, you know that?"

Gexie just continued to stare at him.

So, Luke had no choice but to continue. "Boy, does Shelby has you spoiled," he pointed out as if Gexie could understand him. The gecko just enjoyed the attention/affection, raising her head in the air with her nose pointed up. Honestly, though, Luke smiled. Even a girl leopard gecko could get him to do what she wants. Was he that big of a softie towards all females?

It wasn't until the following evening while Luke was cleaning out Gexie's tank, did Rachel finally called. He had moved Gexie over to her travel tank while Luke switched out the soil for fresh soil. The phone rang while he was pouring the old soil into the trash can.

Setting the tank back on its table, Luke then made his way over to grab the phone, pressing the receiver between his shoulder and the side of his head.

"This is Luke."

"Hey, Luke. Got your message." He recognized the voice immediately.

"Rachel, hey," he replied. "How you've been?"

She breathed out, "I've been good. Just landed back in Chicago, actually. So, perfect timing for your call. How are you?"

"Good, just cleaning out a gecko's tank." Luke had started dumping the rest of the soil into the trash can again.

There was a long pause before Rachel asked, "Is that what the kids are calling it, these days?"

"What?" he asked confused before realization sunk in. "Uh, no. No. Shelby has a pet leopard gecko, and it's been a while since its tank's been cleaned.

"Shelby actually talked you into getting her a pet?" She sounded surprised but very impressed at the same time. "Go, Peanut." There was some proudness mixed in as well.

"It all started when Shelby had to take home the class hamster for the weekend…"

Luke heard Rachel snicker. "Which I'm sure you loved that."

"Let's just say we went through a ton of air freshener that weekend," he said. "And so ever since then, Shelby had been asking for a pet of her own and finally I decided it might be a good idea to get her a pet. I figured it would help teach her some responsibility, and it has. For the most part, she makes sure Gexie is fed, few times a week," Luke set the tank back on the table and ripped open the small bag of soil to pour along the bottom, "makes sure Gexie has enough water to drink, has plenty of her vitamins." Before pouring in the fresh soil, he wiped out the bottom with a safe cleaner that wouldn't harm Gexie once she was back in her tank.

"Hm," Rachel replied. "I'm impressed, Luke."

"Most importantly, Gexie doesn't smell or stink up the apartment, unless we use live crickets. But we agreed to getting the dead one. It's easier for Shelby to feed since we have to sprinkle some of the calcium on them to make sure Gexie's getting enough of it."

"I had planned on taking Shelby to the humane society so we could pick out a cat," Rachel admitted.

"For your place, right?" Luke made sure.

"Yes, for my place. We all know how you feel about cats being overgrown rats who constantly lick themselves and moan strange noises, sometimes," she assured him.

"You do realize all of its hair would get all in Shelby's suitcase and backpack, and all over her clothes where it would end up all over my place?"

"Luke," Rachel told him. "I'm pretty sure you didn't call me to discuss pets. Now what do you want?"

Luke poured in the fresh soil and used the back of his fingers to pat the soil down. He took a deep breath, letting it out. "Lorelai requested, or rather, demands a word with both of us. About Shelby."

"About Shelby," she repeated. "What about Shelby? Because last I checked, I was no longer part of her life. So whatever your _girlfriend_ has to say, she can say it to you and _you_ can deal with it." There was a hint of an apparent grudge towards him.

"I don't think she'll accept that answer." Now that the soil was taken care of, Luke replaced each of Gexie's hides inside the tank. "You see, she's really upset with the both of us."

"I have not been there all year so I don't seem to quite understand why Lorelai would just now be upset with me," she pointed out. "Unless…" There was another long pause. "Oh my God," Rachel said realization.

"What?" Luke topped off the calcium dish.

"You never told anyone what you did, did you?"

"Nobody needed to know," he said and set the small dish inside and headed over to the sink to refill the water dish.

"Did you…? Did you let our daughter think I abandoned her again?"

"You did abandon her, Rachel. You chose to walk out on her, I just told you to stay gone because I didn't think the kid needed a mother who keeps walking in and out of her life, breaking promise after promise."

"And I told you, I just needed some time. I took a job in the meantime and left a note, Luke. I had every intention on coming back. I eventually called, didn't I?" she pointed out.

Luke had turned off the water and was now carrying the water dish back over to the tank. He took a hold of the phone in his left hand as he walked. Luke started to argue in return but stopped himself, taking a deep breath. "Look, Rachel. I didn't call to argue so let's just agree to disagree. Alright? Sound good?"

"Sure, I guess," he heard her breathe out. Rachel did sound very tired.

Setting the water dish right beside the calcium dish, he asked, "So, should I let Lorelai know you're on your way or what?"

"Perhaps," she said. "Long as I have room to say my side of the story."

Luke had almost forgotten the moss for Gexie's warm hide, and began pulling some out its sealed bag to stuff inside the hide. "I don't know what it is Lorelai has planned for us, so I can't make any promises. I just know that I have seventy-two- less than forty-eight hours, now, actually, to get you back here. I'm sure Lorelai would hear you out. She normally does."

There was more silence. Well, from Rachel, that is. A female's voice could be heard in the background as if over an intercom, instructing everyone of one of the last flight arrivals for the night. Since it was almost late in the night, it didn't sound as loud as airport terminals normally were.

"Rachel?" Luke finally asked, making sure she was still there.

"Yeah, I'm here. Listen, I'm tired. I had a long enough flight as it is, traveling from Japan." Luke caught a yawn escape from her.

"Okay. I will let you go then," he said.

"I will book the first flight to Hartford as soon as I can, tomorrow, and will call you when I land. Okay?"

"Okay. Thank you for doing this."

"I'm not doing this for you. I just want to see Shelby again. I've missed her so much the past year I could barely think straight." Hearing how much Rachel missed their daughter added to the guilt that was already filling over with everything else.

"I'm sorry, Rach. I was only looking out for our daughter," he apologized softly.

"I understand, Luke. If the tables were turned, maybe I would have done the same." There was a short pause before Rachel told him she had to go. "Night."

"Night." Luke took the phone from his ear and hung up. He then stared at nothing in particular for a very long time.

Rachel ended up calling back the next day around three in the afternoon. Luke asked if she needed a lift from the airport, but was declined, stating she had a ride. So, he told her to meet him at Lorelai's house before hanging up the phone.

Since the diner was in between rushes, Luke closed for a couple hours and headed over to Lorelai's in his truck. When he pulled up, Luke turned the truck off and stepped out, walking up to the front door where he had rung the doorbell. He had called ahead of time to let Lorelai know he had gotten a hold of Rachel and made sure Lorelai was home before coming over.

The front door opened. When Lorelai saw it was Luke, she slipped out onto the porch as she shut the door behind her.

"How she doing?" he couldn't help ask right away.

"Rory's been busy with finals so I've been keeping Shelby's mind busy with whatever I could think of," she told him. "I got her a copy of _Shrek_ so we've been watching it a few times. Seems to help keep her laughing, at least for a little bit."

Luke forced a smile. He was glad something was making his little buddy laugh, even if it was a cartoon ogre, whom he's been told could be the ogre version of him. "Well, that's something at least."

"Yeah," she agreed.

"So, I assume," Luke slid his hands into his back pockets, "Rory also knows Jess left."

Lorelai nodded. "Not the best time either considering she's studying like crazy, but what can you do?"

"Pretty sure he's not coming back," he added.

"I'm so sorry, Luke," Lorelai gave her sympathies. "I can see how hard this is hitting Shelby, especially. I guess I never realized just how close they really were. Jess never really seemed like the kid-tolerable type."

"Jess made a big difference in Shelby's life. He got her into reading, he's the one who's mostly been helping with her speech sounds, helping with her homework," he listed off on his fingers. "Whenever Shelby was ready to buy another game, he got it for her with his discount. Jess even played with her."

Lorelai looked at him in surprise.

"I just wish he had tried harder for his cousin's sake. I mean, Jess was so protective of that kid," Luke nodded towards the house. "But I guess you were right. Not even a kid like Shelby could change him." He stared towards the floor. "At least enough to make him want to finish school."

She shrugged. "Shelby's just a kid and Jess is an adult."

"I know." He wiped a hand over his face before turning around to pace away. Luke stopped at the railing to stare out at nothing.

"Luke?"

Luke turned back around and leaned on the railing, staring at the floor again. "I failed them. Not only my nephew, I failed my own kid."

Lorelai moved closer to him. "You did not fail either one of them," she pressed at him. "Jess, you supported. You defended him. You gave him a chance, and if he chose not to take it," she shrugged, "then there's nothing more you can do."

Luke sniffed in, trying to hold it together. "Yeah," he nodded, trying so hard to believe that.

"And you know Shelby still loves you. She's just hurt and confused about all of this," Lorelai continued. "I mean, to lose her cousin the same time she learns the truth about her mom. I know you were looking out for her, Luke, but closing that door was not the right move. I told you that."

"Rachel kept making promise after promise she wouldn't leave and she did, Lorelai. You should have seen how broken up Shelby was over it, last summer. I thought we would never cheer her up again. Then when we finally do, that's when Rachel wants to come back? How fair is it for a kid to have a mom like that?"

"It isn't fair, I know, and Shelby shouldn't have to deal with that. If you remember, I'm a single parent too, you know," she reminded him.

Luke forced himself to lift his gaze for a moment. "Whenever I noticed Shelby seemed to be having a hard time with it, I tried getting her to talk. But she never wanted to."

"Expressing her feelings is probably hard for her. Not most kids can fully express themselves with the whole limited vocabulary they got going on."

He looked up at her again just in time to see Lorelai look over behind him. Standing up from the railing, Luke looked over at what she was.

"Who's that?" she asked, just as a man in his thirties was pulling up in an off-road jeep missing its top.

Luke recognized him as somebody Rachel went to college with and was good friends with. In fact, he was usually the one who she would go with on assignments. "That's Roger," he explained. "A college friend of Rachel's."

Rachel slid out of the passenger seat and came around to Roger's side.

"Mm," Lorelai nodded in observation when the guy wrapped a supportive arm around her. "Looks to me they could be more than just friends."

"Well, he did seem to have more in common with her than I did," Luke shrugged off. The two decided to meet the other two, halfway.

"Hey, how's it going?" Lorelai greeted Rachel.

"Hey, Lorelai," Rachel returned the greeting and introduced her to Roger, who held his hand out to shake Lorelai's hand before wrapping it around Rachel once more. "Roger's been a huge support this past year. Wouldn't have gotten through it without him." She smiled at the guy, lovingly, confirming Lorelai's suspension.

"Good for you," she smiled, supportive of Rachel finding that special someone.

Roger turned to look over at Luke. "Good to see you again, Luke," he nodded once at him. "I hoped I'd see you again."

Luke looked at him strangely. "Yeah, and why's that?"

The cheerful disposition quickly vanished. "So I could punch you right in the face," he suddenly blurted out.

"Roger," Rachel warned him.

It was Lorelai who stepped in. "Alright, no need for violence."

"So, what was it you needed to speak to both of us?" she asked, getting right to it.

Folding her arms tightly across her chest, glancing towards the ground, Lorelai said, "Oh, where do we even begin?" She smiled, forcing a chuckle. "I guess, Luke and I already started discussing how I feel on the matter, about how it wasn't the right decision to make, shutting that door between you and Shelby."

"Thank you, Lorelai. It's nice to hear I have support on this," Rachel nodded in relief.

"Hold up there, sister," Lorelai told her. "I didn't say I'm taking any sides. What Luke did was a terrible thing to do for Shelby, but _you_ seemed to have not made it any easier for him not to, and I can see why he did what he did. And, yes, Luke has the legal right to close you out and does not need to give you the time of day, you, on the other hand, have also made some poor decisions that could have prevented Luke from even thinking of shutting you out of your daughter' life."

"So, I bet Luke didn't even tell you, I left a note. That I was planning on coming back, I just didn't know when," she told the woman in a bitter tone.

"Hun, I don't care what you had planned. You _do not_ take off, especially without an end date when you are coming back." Lorelai's tone changed to a firm one, rising a little. "The truth of the matter is, you took off for over a month, and did not bother to call and check in. Put yourself in Shelby's shoes, Rachel. How would you feel if your mom did the same to you?"

"Shelby knows my trips take at least four to six weeks. I've explained that to her," Rachel stubbornly replied.

Luke spoke up at that. "You sure about that?" he asked of her. "Because you weren't there. You didn't see how broken up she was. Her cousin and I had to do all we could to lift her spirits and made sure she knew she was still loved."

Rachel looked away as if in thought. "I didn't come here to be ganged up on," she eventually snapped.

Lorelai softened at that. "And I didn't call the two of you here to make you feel that way. The two of you need to get it together, and work something out for that little girl's sake. Things may not have worked out between you, you still have to work together. You still share a daughter."

"If I may speak," Roger said. "From my understanding, Rachel has tried to work with him," he nodded over in Luke's direction, "but this guy doesn't want to agree on anything. He takes advantage of the fact he has complete custody and expects Rachel to agree to what _he_ wants." He gave a hard glare over at Luke.

"I know what's going on, Roger. Thanks, I got it," Lorelai assured him.

That didn't stop Luke from speaking up for himself. "When it comes to _my_ nephew, you damn right, it's my decision. Rachel had no right to tell me I couldn't let my nephew come back just because _she_ didn't feel comfortable with him being around Shelby." He turned his head to look at Rachel. "Shelby was completely safe the whole year."

"Okay, but what about the sleeping over arrangement?" Roger continued.

Before Luke could respond, Lorelai ended it. "That's enough. We are not here to point fingers and make _anyone_ look like the bad guy. My point I am trying to make is, starting right now, you two," she quickly switched between Luke and Rachel, "need to figure out some way to work something out for the sake of that little girl in there." She pointed over her shoulder at the house. "Do I make myself clear?"

Luke managed to nod as Rachel shrugged. "I can if Luke will," she said.

"Ohhh, trust me," Lorelai smiled once more. "He will," and looked over at him. "Right, Luke?"

"I'm willing too."

Lorelai also added, "Besides, it would best be a good idea to snip this in the bud before you and Nicole get even more serious, don't ya think?"

He felt nervous having Nicole brought up in front of Rachel. Clearing his throat, Luke managed to agree. He couldn't help steal a quick glance over at Rachel. She was his girlfriend at one point, after all. Then again, it seemed like she had moved on as well. Not to mention, Luke was sure Rebecca had made a point to tell her during one of her messages. But he couldn't help notice a confused reaction from Rachel, so maybe her sister didn't mention it.

"So, are we all good now?" Lorelai looked between the parents once more.

They both nodded.

That's when Luke admitted Madison's offer of seeing Shelby's old therapist for him and Rachel. He still hated the thought of seeing a therapist, but at this point, Luke was desperate to try anything. Both ladies were impressed, knowing the guy well enough to know how he would feel about seeing a therapist. Lorelai wasn't fond of them either but thought Madison could be right. At this point, maybe bringing in a professional was a good idea.

Rachel agreed as well.

"I'll give Madison a call and get the information from her," said Luke.

Everything seemed to be settled. Hopefully.

"Can I see her?" Rachel asked afterwards.

"If Shelby wants," he shrugged.

"I'll go ask," Lorelai pointed over her shoulder and headed inside. She abruptly stopped to look back and asked the men, "are you two gonna behave while I'm gone?"

"They will, I'll make sure of it," Rachel answered for them.

"Only because my kid is right inside," Luke stated, eyeing Roger like a hawk. Even though Roger was clearly taller than he was, Luke still felt he could take him.

Lorelai then disappeared inside for a while before returning five minutes later. She shook her head. "Shelby's still isn't up to seeing either one of you." She looked over at Luke as well. "She's pretty shaken up about everything. So, if it's alright with you, Luke, Shelby's welcome to stay for the rest of the week."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'll make sure Shelby gets to school in the morning."

"Remember, she has practice, Tuesday and Thursday, and the games are on Saturday. In fact, I think our weekend to bring snacks is this Saturday."

Lorelai held a hand up in reassurance. "I got it covered. Besides, it would be nice to live the soccer mom lifestyle for a change. Gotta admit, I have wondered how that feels like."

"Yeah, my sister mentioned Shelby was playing soccer now," Rachel said.

"She's trying it," Luke explained. "She wants to return to baseball afterwards, then back to basketball after that."

"I wasn't expecting the interest in basketball, at all when I heard."

"Neither did I," Luke agreed. "Kid's been going through this whole phase, wearing basketball jerseys all the time, her backpack is basketball related. Everything. Even has the video game."

"So, I guess this summer will be baseball, then basketball in the fall?" she asked.

Lorelai answered that. "Shelby has also informed me, she made the final decision for Disney World."

"What about Disney World?"

It was Luke who explained. "Remember Shelby's friends, Ethan and Alan?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Their parents take the family to Florida every summer to visit his parents, and this year, for Christmas, they got tickets for Disney World. Their oldest is going on a school trip during the same time, so they have an extra ticket and thought since Shelby is always spending time over at their house, she's like a part of the family now and invited her to come along. Up till this point, she's been unsure about whether or not she wants to go, and I guess," he let out a sigh, "Shelby made up her mind."

"Now that I'm back, I'm sure Shelby's not gonna want to go. I'm finally being let back into her life," Rachel pointed out.

"Rachel, Shelby just informed me just now when I went in there, even with the knowledge of you being here," Lorelai told her calmly. "I think this trip would be good for her. Give Shelby some time away from everything, away from Stars Hollow. To have some fun with her friends. Those boys have been a humongous help to Luke this past year."

The woman didn't seem to want to give in.

"Remember what I told you, Rachel. Give it time. Things aren't gonna fix themselves overnight."

She nodded. "Okay. If Shelby wants to go to Disney World, then I guess that's okay." Stealing a look with Roger, Rachel asked, "How long before I can see her?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Whenever Shelby is ready. So, you might want to stay. We have plenty of rooms at the inn if you need a place to stay," she offered.

"Thanks, that would be nice." Rachel smiled at the offer.

Since Rory wasn't home from school yet, Lorelai couldn't go with her to help Rachel and Roger get checked in. She did say she would call Michel and let him know a couple guests were on their way.

Luke, on the other hand, did not want to leave without his buddy. Hoping some more time apart would do them some good, Luke forced himself to get back into his truck. He turned it on but fell against his hand he held on the door, thinking about the upcoming summer he would be spending without Shelby. It was hard enough, two summers ago when she went with Rachel. The two had not spent that much time apart since. It was going to be even harder this time and Luke couldn't help find it hard to swallow.


	73. Chapter 73

**Disclaimer: This story follows the TV series.**

* * *

Chapter 73

It had been a long time since Luke had heard from Madison. Which was understandable as Shelby wasn't even one of her clients, or kids, as she referred to them as, anymore. There wasn't really a reason to keep in touch and with how busy being a case manager was in the social services field, those out of the system can lose touch due to life. Doesn't really mean anything. It just happens. Not to mention, Luke thought things had been going so well, anyway, everything else took the lead in his day to day activities. So when Luke called her up after so long, Madison was surprised to hear from him after all this time.

"Luke, it's been a while. How are you and Shelby doing?"

"Uh, to be honest, not so great," he rubbed at the back of his neck while leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is everything alright?" she asked, concerned.

Luke ran a hand down his face. "There was a huge blowout between me and my nephew, the other day, and it all spiraled downhill from there." He then went on to explain further. Luke couldn't help feel a little hesitant sharing what he had done to both Rachel and Jess' father, but he really did think he was doing the right thing and was only trying to help.

"Yeah, I hear ya," Madison said, afterwards. "You try the hardest you can to help the ones you care about, even going in blind and not thinking of the consequences. Your nephew, though, he's an adult. He has that right to know his father is town and wants to see him, even if it throws things further off track. I do agree, however, about having the deal, if he's gonna be staying with you and has agreed to go to school and graduate, then he needs to honor that, and if it's broken, then you have that right to kick him out. He broke that agreement and that was his choice."

"Yeah, I know." Even with both Lorelai and Madison reminding him of that fact, Luke still felt like a failure. He even wondered if taking and hiding Jess' car was an even worse idea as well. If Jess ever found out it was him, Jess was going to be _pissed_ , that was for sure.

"As for Shelby, well, you are her father and full legal guardian. You have every right to tell Rachel, she can no longer have contact with her. I can't stop you, and neither can anybody else. That's your decision, and me, personally, I think you gave Rachel more than plenty of chances. My only gripe on the matter is the fact you chose to keep this from Shelby."

He shrugged. "Shelby would have hated me if I told her the truth."

"Would she, Luke?"

Luke stared at nothing in particular, in confusion. "Well, yeah, I mean, that's her mom."

"Luke, I've been working this job for over a decade by now. I've worked with thousands of children to know you gotta give them more credit than most adults give them."

He thought on that statement.

"A lot of folks say that kids are dumb but really, they're not, especially not Shelby. Yeah, she might have been mad at you for a while, but she would come around because she would remember who's been there for her when she needed it. I mean, yes, it was you who told Rachel, to get lost, basically, but it was her idea to leave in the first place. Taking a vacation just because you're upset from your child saying they hate you, sounds very...childish, in my opinion. I'm sure there's probably more to it, but that's how I see it as an outsider's opinion."

"No, I get what you're saying," Luke replied. "And, believe me, I wouldn't have thought to have done something like this if Rachel hadn't of left. I was just so mad, and then Rachel finally calling, on Shelby's birthday no less, as if nothing happened, like all of this was another planned trip. It tipped me over the edge, and I felt I had to protect my kid from getting hurt again, even if it's from her own mother."

"And I get that, Luke. I do. I'm not saying what you did was wrong, nor am I here to judge you. Me, personally, wouldn't have done things like that, but that's just me," she quickly pointed out. "Like I said, my only concern is with Shelby. Really, she's the only one I care about." Madison chuckled into the phone at that.

Luke smiled. "Yeah, me too. Rachel is willing to try the therapy idea you gave me last year which was why I called. To get that information."

"That's good to hear she's open to trying different options, at least. I actually just left the office for the day so I don't have the contact info with me. Do you have an email? I can send it to you when I get back in, in the morning."

"Uh, no," he said. "I don't really do that computer tech stuff. I'm barely learning this video game technology stuff because of Shelby."

She snickered at that. "You sound just like my father."

Luke stared unamused, to be compared to another adult's father. "Thanks," he replied in sarcasm.

Madison snickered some more, reassuring she would call him first thing in the morning to give him the contact information for the family counseling center. Afterwards, she asked how Shelby and him were doing prior to the unfortunate mess they were in. She was glad to hear Luke had resumed dating and making sure to be careful since he was also a father. Pretty much Luke brought her up to speed of the whole year, mostly highlighting the most important milestones in Shelby's life.

Of course, Madison was good on her word the following morning. The second call was cut short due to there being somebody on the other line.

"Luke's," he said once Luke clicked over.

It was Nicole, calling. "Hey, Luke."

"Nicole, hey," he returned the greeting. "How you been?"

"Busy as normal. But, hey, that's the lawyer business for ya. One of our clients have some serious legal stuff going on that I had to help sort out which is why I hadn't called the last few days." She went on to explain the headaches of the situation. By the sound of it, this client could put Taylor to shame. Luke of course freely allowed her to ramble before she cut herself off, wanting to know how he and Shelby were doing.

Luke paused, unsure what to say. Like with Madison, though, he knew he had to come clean. If everyone found out eventually, so would Nicole.

"What the hell," he gave in with a sigh. "You remember how I told you Shelby's mother took off last year after promising she wouldn't?"

"Uh huh," she nodded. "Let me guess. She came back, I take it?"

"Well...sort of."

"What do you mean?" Nicole asked, unsure.

Again, he rubbed at the back of his neck. Finally, he tossed his hand out at his side. "She did eventually call a month later, on Shelby's birthday, and I told her, she was forbidden to ever see Shelby again." Luke expected Nicole to tell him off and hang up the phone. After all, he remembered the argument regarding that surrogate mother she had with her father during their lunch.

"Okay…?" That was not the response Luke was expecting, at all. "And she came back anyway against your word?"

"You're not mad I kept my kid's mother away from her?"

"I mean, if she really did leave in the first place," she said, then asked for him to explain the story over again, this time what actually happened.

"Most of what I said is what happened, I just left out that one detail," he shrugged and went on to explain the rest, including the current drama."

"Okay, here's the thing," Nicole said once Luke was finished, "you gave her plenty of chances. Yes, a mother should have access to her child, but for a mother to freely walk out on that child? Even if it's to take a trip? Yes, it's good to walk away from a situation and take take some time to breathe and calm down, but not on an out of town trip. And to not set a date as to when she'll be back? I'm sorry, Luke, but when it involves children, you don't get to pick and choose something like that. That is very immature and you're right, she probably was looking for an excuse to go off on some adventure."

"So you think I was right in closing her off?" he questioned.

"Well, if you think that was best, sure. I think you should have at least have told Shelby and explain to her, if her mother couldn't decide on whether or not to stay or leave, then you have to make the tough decision to do what's best for Shelby. She may not understand it right now, but you two seem to have a close enough relationship that she would accept that. Shelby seems like a smartie. She knows who's truly there for her."

"That's what her old caseworker told me," he pointed out. It was strange both Madison and Nicole basically was telling him the same thing. Just, Nicole was more upfront about the situation.

A pair of customers sitting at the counter got up to leave, leaving the money there. Luke stood up from where he was leaning to clear the plates, setting them in the tub underneath the counter and stashed the money in the register, pocketing the tip as he explained what Madison had told him.

"I haven't had much experience with children. I'm an only child with no cousins, myself. But I have friends and co-workers who have kids, and heard stories around the water cooler and during lunch breaks of the stories they share. Kids are definitely not dumb from what I've heard, and Shelby's no exception. She understood her mother didn't like Jess being there, even though it made her sad. From what I can understand is, it sounds more like a control issue than a safety thing."

"What do you mean?"

"If her mother really truly cared for Shelby's safety around Jess, she wouldn't have left in the first place. She would have taken every precaution to make sure Shelby would be alright, where they were, for how long, stuff like that. Even if she thought Shelby actually did hate her. Not to mention, if a grown woman can easily have her feelings hurt by a small child, there is something wrong there. Yes, I understand that child is her own daughter, but still."

"And I told Rachel that she should have known Shelby better than that," Luke pointed out, now wiping down the counter. "Not only is that kid the sweetest, kindest kid you will ever meet, she's also very protective of those she cares about."

"Right, and I can see that from getting to know Shelby in the short time that I've known her. Obviously, it's her mother who's not getting to know Shelby for the person she is," Nicole pointed out. "But, that's just my opinion on the matter. Like I said, the only problem I have with it is, you should have been honest with Shelby. And, hey, if she needs to, Shelby's welcome to come to my place if she needs some respite from the chaos. I've been meaning to ask if I could have a day the two of us can hang out, one on one. I wasn't sure when the right time was. I don't want to overstep anything."

"No, you're fine," he assured her. "Like I mentioned, Shelby's spending some time at Lorelai's place for the rest of the week. But I can ask her when she finally does come home." Through the window, Luke caught sight of Rachel and her boyfriend walking by. Roger opened the door to the diner, letting Rachel in first. "Hey, Nicole, I gotta go. Shelby's mother just walked in, just now."

"Okay. Are you up for dinner or a movie, tonight? Help take your mind off things? I understand if you're not up to it. I don't want to push anything on ya."

"It's fine," he assured once more. Dinner sounds great, actually. I'll call ya this evening on the details."

"Sounds good." Before they hung up, Nicole told him, "and Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time, just be honest with me. I know you don't want to look like a bad father keeping your daughter's mother away, I get that, but sometimes there are legitimate reasons for doing so."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, I guess," he shrugged.

"All is forgiven. Just wanted to point that out," she assured.

"Talk to you later."

"Talk to ya later," she replied before they finally hung up.

Luke turned back around to see Rachel and Roger standing on the other side of the counter. The greetings were short as they shared small talk. Very small talk.

"I was telling Roger how you have the best coffee in town," Rachel told him. "Thought I'd bring him by to prove it."

"For here or to go?"

"Uh, to go, is fine," she replied.

Luke grabbed the pot behind him and two paper to-go cups. Once the coffee was poured, he set the pot back in its place and grabbed two lids from underneath.

Roger tried his first. "Mm, not bad. Guess you're right about this, too, Rachel." He chuckled.

She snickered. "I told ya."

Luke grabbed the rag he used to wipe down the counter, taking it over to tend to the tables that John cleared.

Rachel followed. "So, Luke. Were you able to talk to Madison?" she asked, curious.

"Yep. She called me back this morning and gave it to me."

She forced a smile. "Great."

Luke continued wiping down the tables.

Roger spoke up at that point when she exchanged a look with him. "Are you gonna acknowledge our presence or are you going to ignore us?"

Luke finished wiping down the table he was currently cleaning, finishing with a quick swipe and looked over at the guy. "I'm busy. I responded, didn't I?"

"You could at least make sure we have your full attention," he pointed out.

"Well, you do. I have the info. Now we can discuss when to set up an appointment. But in the meantime, I have to get these tables wiped off for the next customers," he explained in the most calm manner Luke could muster. "So talk."

Roger wanted to press further but Rachel stopped him which he apologized to both of them. "It's just, after seeing Rachel the past year going through that deep depression. I can't help feel angry over it."

Rachel snapped at the guy at that. "Roger," she hissed. "I told you not to say anything."

"The guy deserves to know what he put you through," he pointed a hand over at Luke.

Luke suddenly stood up from wiping down another table. "Get out," he told Roger, trying his best to hold his tongue.

"Why?"

"Why?" Luke repeated. "You seem concerned for Rachel, but what about our daughter? What about how she felt?"

"You are very much to blame as she is, if not more," he said.

Rachel stepped in front of Roger. "Roger, please," she urged him. "We're in a public place. Please don't make a scene."

Thankfully, Roger seemed to settle down. "I'm sorry," he said once more and said he would go wait in the jeep, heading outside.

"Sorry about him," Rachel also apologized.

"No problem. Not sure if I want him around our daughter, though. Seems to have quite the temper." Luke went back to wiping down the table.

"Roger's not like that around kids. Believe me, he loves kids. He doesn't even mind at all being a stepdad."

Luke's head shot up when Rachel mentioned him being a stepdad. "Come again?"

"Well," Rachel ran a finger around the lid of her coffee. "Roger and I have talked about, one day, getting married. So, of course, that would make him, Shelby's stepfather. If you were to find someone and get married, she would be Shelby's stepmother."

Luke headed back over behind the counter, tossing the rag on the end. "He better not expect her to call him, dad," he pointed in the direction Roger had gone.

"Of course not, Luke. Roger wouldn't want that."

"Why would you bring that guy here, anyway? I called for you, not him," Luke blurted out.

"He was with me when you called," she shrugged. "Roger came for moral support. I didn't think he would try and pick a fight with you. He really isn't normally like this. I'm sorry, Luke. I had no part in that, I promise. Can we just stop fighting for one second and discuss a time we're both able to meet with the therapist?"

Forcing himself to calm his nerves, Luke agreed. "Early afternoons are easier to get away from the diner, but I can do late mornings if I need to."

"Any time's good for me," she said. "I was thinking, though. Since Shelby has out of state plans, and Roger and I had already made our summer plans prior to this, with everything booked. What if we picked this up afterwards. If that's okay. I mean, I'm sure you would want to do something with, what was her name again? Nicole?"

"Yes," he replied. "We hadn't talked about it yet. I guess we can hold off for summer vacation." Luke wasn't really sure if they should be postponing this.

"We don't have to if you don't," she assured him. "I can cancel everything if I have to."

"No, we can wait and pick this up after the summer. I'm too worried about Shelby right now to even think about sitting in a room with a therapist. So, no problem. _But_ ," Luke quickly added and pointed his finger down on the counter, "as soon as everyone is done with their plans, we are starting this. No excuses."

"Got it," she nodded, and shook her head. "No excuses." They then shook on it just for good measure.

Shelby ended up staying longer at Lorelai's than they had expected, though. Lorelai told him, she was trying to get Shelby to talk to her about it, but the kid seemed locked up, holding something back. It was Rory who had caved and assured her mother there was no hurt in letting Shelby stay however long she needed. At least until they left for Europe. It wasn't like they had family night dinners to worry about anymore which Luke was surprised to hear that.

"It's a long story," Lorelai just waved the matter off when he said something. "Let's just say, I was able to pay back the loan for Chilton and leave it at that."

About a week after he had taken off, Luke got a call out of the blue from Jess, only asking if Shelby was there.

"Jess?" Luke said in surprise. "Jess, I know it's you," he added when silence followed. "Unless you're calling for a scout agent, you're the only one that calls Shelby, Scout." When more silence followed, Luke let out a sigh. "She isn't here, Jess. She's been staying at Lorelai's." At that, the call ended before Luke could even ask where he was or if the young man was okay. It wasn't until a few days later, while going through the mail, did Luke find a written letter addressed to Shelby. No return address. Just the words, _For Scout's eyes_ _ONLY_ _!_ on the back.

The next morning, when Lorelai stopped by to pick up breakfast, he gave the letter to her to give to Shelby. She assured him, she would make sure Shelby got it.

"You didn't read it?"

"It's a Federal offense to read someone else's mail," he told her. "No, it's addressed to Shelby, and obviously, Jess only wants to speak to her. So…" Luke just shrugged.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Luke rolled his head up towards the ceiling. "Honestly, I don't know. But Jess really does care for the kid, and knew he had to keep his word at keeping in contact with her, after what happened the last time. So, I'm trusting it'll be fine."

Lorelai accepted his decision and reassured Shelby will get it.

At least once a week, Shelby got a letter from her cousin and Luke would have to give it to Lorelai or Rory, to give to her. Nobody else knew what was being said except that Jess was checking in, making sure Shelby knew he was alright.

Occasionally, Shelby stayed over at Ethan and Alan's house, giving Lorelai a break, but she really didn't mind since Shelby was an easy kid like Rory was at that age. And Shelby did accept Nicole's offer to spend some time with her, just the two of them, getting to know one another some more. Nicole would pick Shelby up from a couple of her soccer games and let the kid spend the night, bringing her back to Lorelai's house, Sunday night for school the next morning.

It was still worrisome how closed in the kid seemed to be, not wanting to see either one of her parents. Though, Luke was glad to hear she wouldn't mind seeing her dad since he was invited to Rory's graduation and Rory wanted both him and Shelby there.

That was also when Lorelai and Rory found out Luke had made plans with Nicole to take a two-week trip, driving through western Canada and up to Alaska for a cruise since Shelby would be gone for most of June, and Luke needed something to keep his mind off of that fact. Of course, Lorelai had to give him a hard time, singing the _Love Boat_ theme, and pointed out it was a perfect moment to propose which Luke insisted he had no plans to do no such thing.

"Romantic cruises say commitment, my friend," Rory also pointed out.

"I am not committing," he continued to insist. "So, drop it."

"Okay," Lorelai nodded. "It's dropped."

"Really drop it."

Looking across at Rory, she asked, "Did I not just say, it's dropped?"

Rory shrugged. "Heard it with my own ears."

"Thank you," Luke told them in relief. That is until Lorelai started singing and told him she wouldn't do that if he got a radio for the diner. That's when Luke changed topics, making sure he had the right time and day. When he went to take their order, the two decided to leave, leaving behind their backpacks for their Europe trip, forcing him to have to move them out of the way. Their teasing did end up making Luke rethink his own travel plans, if it was a good idea or not.

At least Luke was getting to see his little buddy soon. Though, he wasn't sure if Shelby would even speak to him. Or give him a glance, even.

He could only hope.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **We're almost done with season three! :) I'm so happy to have this season done and finished and finally move onto season four (though "Healing Love" will be updated before I do)! I actually do have the next and final chapter written already, but I think I am gonna wait and upload it tomorrow, and make sure everyone, for the most part, has read this chapter. I'm actually really proud of the "season finale" chapter I have written and can't wait to upload it! :)**


	74. Chapter 74

**Disclaimer: This story follows the TV series.**

* * *

Chapter 74

Luke met Lorelai, Sookie, and Jackson at the school, exchanging greetings. He didn't see Shelby there at all until Lorelai pointed out she was hiding, motioning her head behind her. The kid did come out on her own without being asked, and shyly waved to her dad. Since Rory was stopping by the town meeting, the night before, anyway, she stopped by the diner to grab clothes for Shelby to wear to the graduation.

Luke waved back, making sure to give her a warm, loving smile. "Missed ya, kiddo."

Shelby glanced up at him but not for very long. Instead, she kept her gaze to the cement.

The group eventually went to find seats together. Shelby sat on the other side of of Lorelai, Sookie, and Jackson, with her dad on the other side. At one point, Luke overheard Lorelai warn her, she would be sitting next to her parents.

"Is that bad?" she asked, innocently, a tad above a whisper.

"Depends on how you look at it," Lorelai said which then Sookie reassured Shelby would be just fine and that Lorelai was teasing. "Hey, just looking out for the kid. She doesn't know my parents as well I do."

When Lorelai got a message on her pager, she had to leave for a moment. Shelby lifted her feet up onto her chair, to hug her knees to her chest. Luke couldn't help notice she would steal looks over at him, and whenever he looked over in her direction, Shelby would look away. It pained his heart to know the tiff between them lasted this long. It had been almost three, almost four weeks since Jess had left and Shelby had temporary moved in with the Gilmores.

Lorelai returned with good news on being able to put a bid on the Dragonfly, and also with the older Gilmores, who sat on Shelby's other side. With the good news, Sookie rushed off to make the call, almost impaling the man in the head, sitting in front of her, with her camera. By the time, she returned, the ceremony was already starting. She got back up to go get some pictures of Rory, real quick as the headmaster was speaking. After he finished, Rory looked back to wave at her group which Shelby made sure to jump up from her seat to wave back, jumping up and down so Rory could see.

"Honestly, Luke," Emily leaned forward in her seat at him, "you can't teach your child how to act in a public place?"

Luke just looked back at her, unsure what to say in return. Shelby did sit back down, also not saying a word. He saw Lorelai whisper something to the kid, quietly snickering to at least get a smile out of her, and snuck a thumb's up towards him, letting Luke know it was all good.

Rory's classmate, Brad went up after Paris said the Pledge before the headmaster introduced Rory, the class valedictorian, to come give her speech. Shelby clapped happily when Rory went up to the podium as the adults insisted they weren't crying as Rory began her valedictorian speech, starting with the usual introduction before going on a more personal path.

"I live in two worlds. One is a world of books. I have been a resident of Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha county, hunted the white whale aboard the _Pequod_ , fought alongside Napoleon, sailed the raft with Huck and Jim, committed obscurities with Ignatius J. Reilly, rode a sad train with Anna Karenina, and strolled down Swann's Way. It's a rewarding world, but my second one is, by far, superior. My second one is populated with characters slightly less eccentric, but supremely real, made of flesh and bone, full of love, who are my ultimate inspiration for everything. Richard and Emily Gilmore are kind, decent, unfailingly generous people. They are my twin pillars, without whom I could not stand. I am proud to be their grandchild. But my ultimate inspiration comes from my best friend, the dazzling woman from whom I received my name and my life's blood, Lorelai Gilmore."

By this point, the urge to fight back against the tears were starting to be too much, even for Luke, himself.

"My mother never gave me any idea that I couldn't do whatever I wanted to do or be whomever I wanted to be. She filled our house with love and fun and books and music, unflagging in her efforts to give me role models from Jane Austen to Eudora Welty to Patty Smyth. As she guided me through these incredible eighteen years, I don't know if she ever realized the person I most wanted to be was her." Rory choked up on the last past.

The others weren't doing so well either.

"Thank you, Mom. You are my guidepost for everything."

Luke could not handle it anymore and was now blubbering like a baby. Even Shelby was crying by this point. He looked over when he heard Lorelai just before the kid bolted out of her seat and squeezed past Richard and Emily's knees before taking off down the aisle.

Ignoring another one of Emily's remarks on proper etiquette, Luke assured Lorelai, he would handle it so she wouldn't have to miss anything. Sidling in front of their group, Luke hurried after Shelby, catching up to her in the back, away from everyone else.

"Shell, you can't bolt like that in a public place," he couldn't help gently scold when Luke caught up to her. "What if something happened to you?" Luke wasn't exactly sure if rich people kidnapped children, considering the reason was usually wanting a ransom. One would have to be pretty greedy to demand even more money from someone.

Shelby was leaning against the wall as she repeatedly kept wiping her eyes on her shirt sleeves.

Luke kneeled beside his little buddy, facing her. "Come on, kiddo. Talk to me. What's wrong?" he urged with a more gentle tone.

Her chest was heaving as she breathed like a marathon runner. Luke had to insist on Shelby taking deep breaths before she hyperventilated. It took a few minutes but eventually the kid was able to take slower breaths, steadying her breathing as she stared forward.

"Listen, kiddo," he looked up into her tear-soaked face. "I wasn't expecting to say this now, but I want you to know I only did what I did to your mom to protect you. I wasn't trying to hurt you, or her, even. I cannot even begin to say how sorry I am, but I'm willing to try. I love you more than anything else in the entire world and when I saw how upset your mom was causing you to be, then to take off like that, just to come back a month later like it was nothing?"

Shelby shot back a large amount of snot, grossing her dad out in the process. He shook it off, not saying anything about it. That's when she finally looked at him.

"I'm sorry, kiddo. I should have at least told you," Luke breathed in, finding it hard to do so. He wiped a finger under his nose as he too breathed in. "I know I messed up big time with you and Jess. I thought I was helping, and I only made things worse."

Luke touched her right arm. "You have every right to be mad at me if you feel the need to be. I'm okay with you taking all the time you need. Okay?"

Shelby watched him. She then wiped her eyes on her arm, sniffing in again. This time, it wasn't as snotty. "I was mad a' firs' bu'..."

"It's okay, kiddo," he reassured her but Shelby shook her head, shutting her eyes. "What is it?"

Shelby looked away, sucking in her lower lip. "I…"

Reaching his other arm around to hers, Luke gently turned Shelby around to fully face him.

"I'm here to listen, kiddo. Just say whatever is on your mind, even if it's about me."

She took another deep breath, trying her best to look at him. "I...I…" Shelby then blurted out, "I jus' wan' wha' Lor-lai and Rory go'." She pointed over behind Luke.

He looked around behind him before turning forward once more. By this point, Rory had finished giving her speech and each student was being called up to receive their diploma placeholder. "You mean with your mom?"

Shelby nodded. "Bu'..." The kid suddenly stopped herself. Luke continued to urge his little buddy on, now holding her hands in his. "Even when Mom was here…" She breathed in some more. Fresh tears were starting to fall as she tried to hold eye contact but kept looking out the corner of her right eye.

She shrugged, holding it for a moment. Luke gave her hands a comforting rub in circles. "E-even when she...I don' know. Whenever I'm with Mom, i's no' like with you or Jess or Lor-lai or even Aun' Becca."

Luke wasn't sure what Shelby was referring to. "What do you mean, kiddo?"

Shelby shrugged once more. "I don' know." Sniffing in some more, she told him, "I's like I have to try harder when I'm with Mom like I have to be perfec'. I wish we could be like Lor-lai and Rory, bu' Mom's always telling me to do things like not to spill things on the fun-i-ture, and to keep drinks in the kitchen, and yelling at me when I forget, or when I put my shoes on the couch and push my bike on the carpe'."

She stopped to wipe her eyes.

"Kiddo, why didn't you tell me what was going on?"

Shelby forced herself to look her dad in the eye. "Because I was wanted to fix it on my own. And when Mom left..." She swallowed. "A par' of me…" Her chest started heaving again.

"Deep breaths, kiddo," he told her, softly, gently rubbing her side.

When Shelby caught her voice, she unexpectedly apologized.

Luke shook his head, confused. "For what, kiddo?"

"I was sad, because i' was my faul' Mom lef'," she managed to heave out before a lone tear drifted down her right cheek.

Luke reached up to wipe it away before giving her upper arm a gentle squeeze. "It wasn't, Shell. I can promise it wasn't your fault. You were just upset and sometimes we say words we don't mean when we're upset. Your mom should have known better, and I'm sorry you felt you had to carry this with you all this time."

"Tha's no' the worse par'," she said.

Now, Luke was even more confused. "What do you mean?"

Shelby shrugged. "I couldn' help i', Dad. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Squeezing her eyes shut tight, Shelby cried extra hard that time, producing some coughs. He tried to pull her in to hug her but Shelby pushed him away and wiped her eyes once more. So, Luke had her take more deep breaths before urging her to tell him why she felt she had to continue apologizing.

"I-I-I…" Taking in one last deep breath, she managed to say, "I w-was also happy." More tears poured out. "I jus' wan'ed wha' they had, with Mom." Finally, exhausted, Shelby collapsed against her dad and immediately squeezed his neck. Luke felt her bury her face into the crook of it, soaking his shirt collar.

Luke wrapped his own arms arounds his little buddy, gently running a hand along her back. He turned his head for a brief moment to kiss the side of her head. There was a moment when nobody said anything as Luke let Shelby cry on his shoulder as he continued running his hand along her back.

Finally, after a few minutes, he nudged her off with his shoulder to have Shelby look at him. Luke held onto her waist.

"Look at me, Shell," he told her in a firm but gentle tone. "You can't always have what others have. Life doesn't work that way. Remember, like how you got a GameCube for Christmas and the boys didn't?"

She nodded. "I know, Daddy." She sniffed back more tears. "I'm sorry."

Luke shook his head. "Nothing to apologize for, kiddo," he assured her. "But, you wanna know something?"

"What?"

"In a way, you do have what Lorelai and Rory have."

"How?" Shelby gave him that puzzled look of hers.

Luke couldn't help smile and switched back to holding onto her hands. "Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd get somebody who's pretty much my shadow. Who shares a lot of things I like. Who makes me smile every day even when Taylor's being...Taylor. In a way, you're probably my best friend, kiddo."

That made Shelby smile. Wiping her eyes dry, she told him, "You're my best friend too, Daddy."

At that, Luke pulled his little buddy in and bearhugged her to death. "I love ya more than you'll ever know, kiddo."

Shelby tried to squeeze him just as much. "I love you more than I love _Pokemon_ ," she replied.

He chuckled, knowing how much the kid loved _Pokemon_ and kissed her cheek. Shelby countered with a kiss to his cheek, as well.

"I really am sorry, kiddo," he said while they were still hugging.

"I's okay, Daddy. I forgive you," she assured him.

Luke smiled to hear his little buddy had forgiven him. So much so, a lone tear escaped and drifted down his own face. Lifting her with him, Luke stood to his feet, now wishing he kept wet-ones on him and asked somebody if they knew where the closest restrooms were. By the time they returned, the ceremony was over.

"Where have you two been? Everything alright?" Lorelai asked with great concern. "Shelby, you okay, sweetheart?"

The little girl nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry abou' missing Rory's grad-u-a-tion."

"That's alright, sweetheart. I'm just glad you're okay," she roughly but gently rubbed the kid's upper arm, repeatedly.

Shortly after, Rory hurried over to her mom, kissing her cheek. "Hey, is everything alright? I saw Shelby run off. You okay?"

Shelby nodded once more. "I am now."

"That's good, kid."

"On the plus side, though, you made everyone cry including stone cold Luke, with your amazing speech," Lorelai pointed out.

"Luke, you old softie," Rory teased him.

Luke slowly turned his head. "I will never live this down," he groaned, catching a giggle from Shelby, who was standing again.

"Not with me in your life," Lorelai also teased.

"I gotta go. I gotta get back to the diner." Luke turned to look down at Shelby. "You coming home with me, Shell?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I missed Gexie. Did you take good care of her while I was gone, Dad?"

He smiled at her, touching the top of her head to brush at a few strands of hair. "You bet, kiddo. We kept each other company, too."

Before they left, Rory thanked both of them for coming.

"Oh, sure. The building's amazing," he replied before she gave him a hug. This time, less awkward than the last hug he tried to give. "So are you."

"Thanks." Rory then leaned over to hug Shelby. "Glad you came, Shelby."

Shelby hugged the teen back. "You're welcome, Rory. Sorry I missed some of it."

Rory pulled apart. "That's okay. I'm just glad you and your dad are on speaking terms again."

The kid smiled up at her dad, showing off her dimples. "Me too."

Rory took off first to go say good-bye to her classmates.

Before Luke and Shelby could leave, though, Lorelai stopped him.

"It was really great of you to come, Luke. It meant a lot to her. To have both of you here despite Shelby not wanting to see you. I'm glad you both were able to work things out."

"Yeah," Luke nodded, looking at his little buddy, who was now leaning against him.

"So, if I don't see the both of you, have fun on your trips." Lorelai reached down to playfully grab at Shelby's side. "Alright, Shelby?"

Shelby flinched at it, sidestepping behind her dad, giggling. "I will."

"And you too, mister," Lorelai pointed at him.

"Oh, we may not go now," he admitted.

"What? You were really looking forward to it. I thought you wanted something to do while Shelby's in Florida?"

"I don't know if the timing's right. Things are kind of weird right now."

"Oh no," Lorelai said in a worried tone.

"What?"

She shifted on her feet. "It's because I teased ya about the commitment thing and proposing. I ruined it." She shook her head.

"No, that's not it," he quickly replied.

"Please promise me that's not it." Lorelai put her hands to her chest. "It would break my heart."

"But you weren't wrong about that," Luke pointed out and shrugged. "It got me thinking, and it is kind of like committing to her."

"So?"

"I don't want to lead her on."

"But you like her, Luke. You like her a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "She's great. And she's a huge support with Shelby. Loves Shelby, actually."

Lorelai turned to get Shelby's input. "What about you, Shelster? You think Nicole's the best lady for your dad, here?"

Shelby nodded while linking her arms through her dad's arm of the hand that was in his pocket. "If she makes Dad happy, then she has my blessing."

"Aw, that's sweet, sweetheart."

Luke couldn't help smile at his little buddy, too.

"I think you should go, Luke," Lorelai told him, getting his attention. "No matter what she's reading into."

"Really? You think that's okay considering…" he shook his head once. "I don't know...everything?" Luke rocked on his heels.

There was a slight pause before she forced out a "Yeah," while smiling. "I do."

"Oh, okay," he nodded at the ground and shrugged. "I'll probably go then."

Lorelai continued to smile at him. "Good."

"I guess I was just nervous about nothing."

"That's what I think, too," she agreed.

"See you in a couple months," he told her.

"Wha' about my 'tuff?" Shelby asked at that point. "Everything's 'till at Lor-lai's house."

"I'll bring it by the diner in the morning on our way out, how's that? Or, there's always the key in the turtle. You guys can stop by and grab everything if we're not able to drop your stuff off," she offered.

"Okay," the kid nodded.

With one last good-bye, they parted ways.

The car ride home was in silence for the most part until it was Shelby who broke it.

"You and Nicole are going on a trip when I'm gone?"

Luke shrugged, glancing over at her, and repeatedly switched between his daughter and the road. "We were planning it. I mean, you were gonna be gone for awhile, and since our ski trip got cancelled and all. Plus, your mom had already had a trip planned, anyway with her friend."

"Mom's going on another trip already?" she looked sad to hear her mom was leaving again.

"Well, it was planned before all this happened. She was disappointed to hear you'd be going on a trip too and wants to see you. But since you had plans, we'd figure us adults would have some fun of our own," he explained. "And you can see her before you leave, if you want. You don't leave until the first of June."

"Okay," she nodded at that. "And Dad?"

"Yeah?" Luke glanced over at Shelby again.

"It's okay if you do wan' to propose."

He smiled. "Yeah?"

She nodded some more. Luke then caught some hesitance as she looked away.

He reached over to cup the back of her head. "It's okay, kiddo," he urged her to speak her mind some more if she still needed to.

Forcing herself to look back at him, Shelby admitted, "Even Nicole makes a be'ter mom than Mom does."

His shoulders dropped as his heart broke for his little buddy once more. "I'm sorry about that, kiddo."

She forced a smile for him.

"Madison gave us the phone number where you used to go for counseling, for your mom and me. So hopefully it'll help us be better parents for you," he told her, encouragingly.

"But you're already a good dad," Shelby pointed out and smirked at him.

"Yes, but I bet I could be an even better dad. Remember?" Luke reminded her of the reason she had been staying at Lorelai's in the first place. He knew Shelby was only trying to be nice, though.

Later, that evening, after saying hello to Gexie, Shelby went to bed, early while Luke closed down the diner. To his surprise, Lorelai stopped in.

"Hi, Luke."

"Lorelai, hi," he returned, surprised to see her so soon. "Where's Rory?"

She shut the door behind her. "Oh, she's out in the car."

Luke nodded. "Oh."

She casually walked over to him.

"It was a really nice ceremony, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was beautiful." Lorelai suddenly turned to face him.

"What's up?"

"I just wanted to…" she paused in hesitation, "say something to you in case we don't see each other before you go on your trip."

"Sure. What?"

Lorelai smiled at him. "Don't get engaged."

Luke just stared at her in confusion. "What? Why?"

Without saying another word, she just left. Just like that.

"Lorelai?" He stood there as Luke watched her leave.

Suddenly, Luke bolted out of a sound sleep, quickly realizing he had fallen asleep once he had retreated upstairs. The apartment was still dark. It was light enough where he could see Shelby standing there, beside him.

He leaned forward, his arms on his knees and rubbed at his eyes, thinking about the dream he just had.

"Did you have a bad dream, Dad?"

"Uh, no, kiddo. Just...just...Uh, never mind."

"Oh, okay. Can I 'leep with you, though? Because I did."

"Sure, kiddo." Pulling her in, Luke held her close. His dream was still playing vividly in his mind.

 **The End...**

 **To Be Continued...In Season Four**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **As I mentioned before, I also upload over on Wattpad where there is a chapter limit for stories. So, I have decided since this seems like a good ending point, I will be making a separate part two story over there and figured I'd do the same thing over, as well. It'll still be called, "A Father's Love" but with "Part Two" in the title. So be on the lookout for that in the future!  
**


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